Deogratias “Deo” Niyizonkiza, founder and CEO of Village Health Works, is a leading advocate for some of the world’s most impoverished and vulnerable people. His compassion, expertise, and lived experience have made him a key voice in global health and international development. A frequent lecturer on global health, Niyizonkiza is the recipient of multiple prestigious honors and awards, including The Carnegie Foundation of New York’s 2016 Great Immigrant: The Pride of America; the 2016 Presidential Medal: Amitiés des Peuples (Burundi); 2014 Dalai Lama Unsung Hero of Compassion Award; the 2013 People to People International's Eisenhower Medallion Award; the 2010 Women's Refugee Commission’s Voices of Courage Award; and others. Niyizonkiza has been selected as the 2022 Class Day keynote speaker at Columbia University.
Previously
A giant in global public health who dedicated his life to championing equity, Paul Farmer’s death in Rwanda this year at the age of 62 is a heartbreaking loss. Passionate, blu...
