Michelle Muscat has added another civil society trophy to her cabinet after being honoured for her ‘outstanding contribution to non-profit health organisations’.

The Prime Minister’s wife, who in 2017 was named Malta’s ‘volunteer of the year’, was cited by judges for the Bupa Awards for her “major role in driving change by supporting cancer and mental health organisations, and through the positions she holds on the Association of Parents of Children with Autism; Special Olympics Malta; and the National Alliance for the Rare Diseases Support – Malta.”

Her 2017 ‘volunteer of the year’ citation had prompted plenty of head-scratching within NGO circles, with critics calling it “an insult to volunteers”.

Mrs Muscat was one of three awarded at the first edition of the awards ceremony, with the other two prizes going to medical consultants. Prof. Alexander Felice received an award for his ‘outstanding contribution to thalassaemia and rare disease’ and Prof. Stephen Montefort won an award for his ‘outstanding contribution to research on asthma’.

Prof. Felice is a leading expert in thalassaemia, a genetic disorder that affects the production of haemoglobin. He led the establishment of thalassaemia and molecular genetics services in Malta and the development of a Molecular Biotechnology Research Programme, including human and medical genomics, as well as the Malta BioBank.

Prof. Montefort is the lead consultant respiratory physician at Mater Dei Hospital and has been Department of Medicine head and Medical School deputy dean since 2012. For the last four years, he has been the Federation Lead for Malta for the Royal Colleges of Physicians UK.

Organised by GlobalCapital Health Insurance, the Bupa Malta awards are intended to celebrate the work of those who have contributed to health research, health improvement and health charities. They were presented during a gala dinner held on Thursday at the Phoenicia Malta and attended by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.