Funmbi Okoya Recieves Princess Diana Award

pharmacy

Funmbi Okoya, a Nigerian young pharmacist has been conferred with the Diana Award, for his contributions in social action or humanitarian efforts.

Established in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, the award is given in charity of the same name and has the support of both her sons, The Duke of Cambridge and The Duke of Sussex.

Okoya is a passionate activist and leader in Nigeria’s fight against the drug abuse epidemic. He has led campaigns for the education of thousands of students, youths, parents and sportspersons about the dangers of drug abuse, as well as breaking down the stigmatisation of mental health disorders.

Okoya was the 2019 Lagos State Coordinator of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria Young Pharmacists Group and was able to make significant impacts on his peers, students and parents.

Top among his achievements were the enlightenment of 9000 students and 10000 parents against drug abuse; mental health advocacy walk with 42 volunteers; training of young pharmacists on mental health, and others.

The Chief Executive Officer, the Diana Award, Tessy Ojo, felicitating with all the winners of the award said: “We congratulate all our new Diana Award recipients who are change makers for their generation.

“We know by receiving this honour they will inspire more young people to get involved in their communities and begin their own journey as active citizens. For over twenty years, The Diana Award has valued and invested in young people encouraging them to continue to make positive change in their communities and lives of others”, she said.

Nomination Process for The Diana Award

Award recipients were put forward by adults who know the young people in a professional capacity and recognised their efforts as a positive contribution to society.
Through a rigorous nomination process, these nominators had to demonstrate the nominee’s impact in five key areas: Vision, Social Impact, Inspiring Others, Youth Leadership, and Service Journey.

There were 13 Diana Award Panels representing each UK region and a further three panels representing countries outside of the UK.

Each panel consist of three judges; one young person, an education or youth work professional, and a business or government representative.

The panels have an important main purpose: to determine which nominations from each UK region/country will receive The Diana Award.

Nominations were judged using the criteria guide and scoring guide which have been created to measure quality of youth social action.