Congratulations to the Nobel Peace Prize 2018 winners

Posted on Oct 8, 2018 12:00 AM by

In 2018, the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded jointly to Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict.

Both laureates advocate for an end to sexual violence from different sides of the spectrum, but with a common goal in mind. Nadia Murad is a Yazidi-Iraqi human rights activist who was kidnapped and held by the Islamic State for three months. Denis Mukwege is a Congolese gynecologist working with victims of sexual violence. Close the Gap would like to congratulate both laureates for their hard work, which is justly awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize.

Mr. Mukwege founded and works in Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, where he specializes in the treatment of women who have been raped by armed rebels. The region where the hospital is located has been devastated by war and an epidemic of sexualized violence for more than twenty years. Today, the Panzi Hospital serves more than 400,000 constituents in the Ibanda Health Zone. The hospital is one of the projects located in the field of health care that Close the Gap supported in recent years. In total, more than 400 computers were donated to Panzi hospital.

Mr. Mukwege is also a member of the jury of the King Baudouin Foundation African Development Prize, together with Close the Gap's founder and CEO Olivier Vanden Eynde. This prize aims to reward individuals or organisations who are making an outstanding contribution to development in Africa.