Campus & Community

HSPH dean receives highest honor from Cyprus

2 min read

Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) Dean Barry R. Bloom has been awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Makarios III, which is the highest honor awarded in the Republic of Cyprus to individuals who have made a substantial contribution to the welfare of the Cypriot people.

Bloom received the award Tuesday (March 20) from Cypriot President Tasso Papadopoulos at a ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia, Cyprus.

Bloom is being honored for his role in establishing the Initiative for the Environment and Public Health, an international research, education, and technology initiative established jointly by HSPH and the Republic of Cyprus. The initiative brings together researchers, educators, government officials, and business leaders from Harvard, Cyprus, and other countries in the eastern Mediterranean region, North Africa, and the Middle East to address regional environmental issues and develop new ways to promote a cleaner environment and healthier populations.

As part of the initiative, two new research and training entities were created: the Cyprus International Institute (CII) for the Environment and Public Health located in Nicosia, Cyprus, and the HSPH-Cyprus Program (HCP) located in Boston.

“I am very honored to receive such an award, which I accept on behalf of all the individuals who have been working so hard over the past three years to make the Initiative for the Environment and Public Health so successful,” Bloom said.

Established in 2004, the goals of the initiative are to train a new generation of public health leaders in Cyprus and the region, and to conduct research focused in five areas: air pollution; water and health; cancer research and control; tobacco research and control; and occupational health.

Since its inception, the initiative has created 15 research units to address the five major research priority areas. The initiative has also brought together in Cyprus representatives from the ministries of health and environment of 13 countries in the region.