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I was highly pleased to accept the invitation to preside at the award ceremony of the Champalimaud Vision Prize, celebrating, at the same time, the unique contribution of a Portuguese national, whose memory I invoke as a sign of recognition of all our citizens.

In addition to the Foundation he instituted, which has been supremely directed by Mrs. Leonor Beleza, the valuable legacy of António Champalimaud is well represented in this Prize, which is so relevantly recognized in the area of vision and is also at the service of new standards of knowledge that promote Humanity’s health and wellbeing.

The Champalimaud Foundation is currently a worldwide reference in biomedical research, and an institution providing care of clinical and technological excellence, in the fields of oncological and neuropsychiatric pathologies.

I salute the scientists and researchers and all the physicians for the international projection they have given to the Champalimaud Foundation, through the work that is daily carried out here,
Portugal has achieved health indicators the provide it with an outstanding position in the international context and this, in a large measure, has resulted from the notable work carried out, throughout 35 years, by our National Health Service.

At a time of so much uncertainty, it is important to recognize and emphasize our capacity to win, stressing the internationally recognized many mustering examples that exist in Portugal, in the universities, in the health system or in the companies.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
The prevention and eradication of ocular illnesses in the world, through basic or clinical research in the area of vision and in field work in the fight against blindness, are the objectives of the Champalimaud Vision Prize.

The recognition that, out of the total number of blindness cases in the world, three quarters are caused by ocular conditions that can be prevented or treated, led the World Health Organization and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness to create the global initiative “VISION 2020 – The Right to Sight”, launched in Geneva in February 1999.

The Champalimaud Vision Prize has the support of this initiative and its contribution, with the greatest worldwide award in the field of ophthalmology, is inestimable to enable us to reach such an ambitious and equally general objective: to expunge the main causes of avoidable blindness by 2020.

In 2014, the jury decided to attribute the Prize to a group of seven researchers who distinguished themselves through their work on anti-angiogenic therapies, in situations of diabetic retinopathy and age related macular degeneration of the retina. We are facing two pathologies that represent the most significant cause of blindness in industrialized countries.

The work of the researchers that have been distinguished today represents an exceptional contribution towards the physiopathology of the loss of sight and for the swift progress of the application of new therapies in the field of ophthalmology.

The reach and the impact of this research in vascular biology are enormous, since the prevalence of such illnesses is related either with the aging of the population or with bad eating habits that induce diabetes and obesity.

I warmly salute the seven researchers who received this award, for the example of their teamwork methodology which, during years, has led them to success in their quest.

The results of your work, now applied to the treatment of the sick, open up hope, in all the world, for millions of people affected by retina illnesses.

I equally congratulate the jury for their choice, and hope that, year upon year, this Prize continues to be an incentive to all that apply their knowledge and guide their work on behalf of their fellow beings.

Thank you very much.