EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides was given an honorary doctorate from the University of Reading in the UK on Friday.

According to a statement, the decision to award Kyriakides an honorary doctorate was unanimously taken by the senate and the University Council, “for her overall contribution to the health sector and especially to the management of the crisis of the coronavirus pandemic, benefiting millions of European citizens”. Kyriakides had graduated from the said university in 1977.

“The global crisis of the pandemic had a ray of hope – under the leadership of Stella,” it was emphasised during the ceremony, according to the relevant announcement.

Equality in health is non-negotiable for all countries in Europe, regardless of their size, distance, or economic potential, it was possible for all member countries to be supplied with vaccines simultaneously and equally, the announcement said.

Special reference was also made to the building of the European Health Union, under the supervision of the commissioner, which will work to strengthen the EU’s scientific organisations, to upgrade Europe’s plan to fight cancer, with a budget of €4 billion, and to create the new pharmaceutical reform that will ensure the equality of access to medicines.