Sir Gustav Nossal at Medical Foundation 50th Anniversary

12 August 2008

Over the past decade, rays of light have crept into the dark area of global health, according to Sir Gustav Nossal in a lecture to mark the 50th anniversary of the Medical Foundation.

Sir Gustav is a graduate of the University of Sydney, and a leading medical scientist and humanitarian. The former director of the Walter & Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne, he is an advocate for international health and he spoke on the challenges in alleviating poverty and improving health in developing countries.

“Major currents are sweeping through the development aid field. In 2005, the G8 group committed themselves to a new moral imperative of ridding the world of extreme poverty. Academics and other leaders are, I believe, ready for real partnerships,” he said.

“It is not all doom and gloom. The number of children dying aged under five years was a record low in 2006, and progress is being made in the fight against the big three global diseases of malaria, HIV and tuberculosis.”

“I’m very proud of the fact that the Medical Foundation has, over its long life, supported programs which have made important progress in the international health field,” he said.

Sir Gus’ lecture was to mark the celebration by the Medical Foundation of its establishment in 1958 by a prominent group of NSW medical and business people, made up of Sir Victor Coppleson, Sir Frank Packer, Mr Bill Farnsworth, Sir Garfield Barwick, Sir Robert Chichton-Brown, and Sir Vincent Fairfax.

The University’s Chancellor, Professor Marie Bashir, and the Foundation’s President, Mr Richard Caldwell, both spoke at dinner in the Great Hall in July of the important role the Foundation has and will continue to play in supporting medical research.

The Medical Foundation has close to $60 million in assets, and is supporting researchers in areas as diverse as adolescent health, cancer, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, ageing and Alzheimer’s disease, and diabetes.