Nationalist MEP Simon Busuttil has won the 2012 MEP of the Year Award for Health, becoming the first Maltese MEP to be awarded the prestigious prize.

The award was presented by EU Commissioner Maros Sefcovic in recognition of Dr Busuttil's work in the European Parliament in favour of people suffering from diabetes. 

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Receiving the award during a ceremony held in central Brussels, Dr Busuttil said this prize meant that diabetes was finally on the EU agenda.  He dedicated the prize to the 51 million people suffering from diabetes across the European Union. In Malta, around 10 per cent of the population is estimated to be diabetic.

Dr Busuttil is the co-President of the EU Diabetes Working Group in the European Parliament and has worked to bring together various institutions and stakeholders to put diabetes on the EU agenda, his office said. In March this year he successfully piloted a resolution through the European Parliament on the fight against diabetes which was adopted by an overwhelming majority. This was the first time that the European Parliament adopted a resolution specifically on diabetes.  

Dr Busuttil was nominated for this prize by European stakeholders in the health sector. They described Simon Busuttil as "a highly active and admired Maltese MEP." According to the nomination letter: "he has received tremendous support from stakeholders, who enjoy seeing such a dynamic MEP working in the area of diabetes, a highly chronic condition, when neither he himself or any of his direct family members suffer from this disease." 

The event was organised by the Parliament Magazine.

Two other Maltese MEPs, Louis Grech and Edward Scicluna, were also nominated in other sectors.