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Published on February 6, 2008

The two scientists who last week received Prince Mahidol Awards from His Majesty the King share more than that prestigious honour - they both have ties to Australia, inspiring fathers and an abiding compassion for humanity.

Professor Basil Hetzel, 85, a pioneering researcher in the area of iodine deficiency, and Dr Sanduk Ruit, 53, medical director of the Tilganga Eye Centre in Nepal, have said their fathers inspired their entry into public health.

"My great guidance came from my dad, who was not a literate person but had very high aspirations for educating his only child," says Ruit.

And Hetzel says his father, a researcher and medical doctor, also propelled him into the field. "My father was a researcher, so I had a research orientation early on."

Australia's Hetzel and his Nepalese counterpart were presented with the Prince Mahidol awards along with German molecular biologist Professor Axel Ullrich.

Dr Ruit has saved more than 70,000 people from blindness using a stitchless technique that allows cataract microsurgery to be performed on a mass scale.

Dr Hetzel's groundbreaking idea of adding iodine to salt has insured millions of children worldwide against the brain damage that can result from iodine deficiency.

Both men say they were honoured to be presented the award, which is dedicated to His Majesty's late father, the father of modern Thai medicine and public health.

"Prince Mahidol had been an icon for me," says Ruit, "and then to receive it from the King of Thailand ... I really feel the King of Thailand is a wonderful person, a great statesman."

The eye surgeon shares a strong bond with Hetzel's country of birth, having been heavily involved with the work of pioneering Australian opthamologist Fred Hollows.

He worked with Hollows in the 1980s

and has since received the Order of Australia for his work with the Fred Hollows Foundation.

Ruit says he used to spend nights drinking whisky with Hollows while discussing the obstacles in their shared path and brainstorming solutions.

"Fred was such a wonderful human being. I know he was arrogant, but he really wanted to care for people who were unfortunate and unprivileged."

Hetzel's work also sent him beyond national borders. He researched in developed countries, but it was his work in Papua New Guinea in the late 1960s that set him on his current path.

This was where he first discovered that endemic goitre and cretinism were linked with iodine deficiency.

Along with colleagues, the World Health Organisation and Unicef, he helped set up the International Council for Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders Association in 1986, to promote to governments the idea of distributing iodised salt.

"Before 1990 only 20 per cent of the population was receiving iodised salt," Hetzel says. "In 1999 the coverage was 68 per cent."

The non-governmental organisation he co-founded now includes 700 professionals in 100 countries, although Prof Hetzel is no longer involved in its day-to-day administration.

But his compassion is still evident, even after 40 years of dedication to the cause.

"I have been inspired by the possibility of helping so many people with brain defects. Two-and-a-bit billion people are at risk of developing deficiencies," he says.

"If the soil is deficient, then what they grow in the soil is deficient. People are caught up in a vicious circle. But all they need to do is use iodised salt."

Ruit says public health "is all about providing quality affordable, sustainable

and achievable healthcare, and that has always been our goal. 

"Work with sight restoration involves a lot of compassion. It is work that changes the lives of many millions of people. It helps people who don't have access to healthcare."

Both men realise there is still much more to be done in their fields.

Ruit aims to franchise his technology globally, while continuing to raise funds.

"I have found people in the world to be very generous. They want to come and help. They just need a good project," he says.

With a solution available, Hetzel says his and the network's goal is now effective distribution.

"The immediate objective is to remove this symptom. We have the resources to do this, even without using iodised salt, but the question is how.

"The network has been pushing things along with the help of the salt industry. We're encouraged by progress, but there's still a third of the world not covered," he says.

Ruit says the Prince Mahidol award had refreshed his drive. "I really felt like I was getting a little low in the battery, but now I feel fully charged.

 "Time is not waiting for you. If you really want to be effective, understand your limitations and move forward. That is my philosophy, and I want to go back and work as soon as possible."

Lily Partland, Danielle Kirk

The Nation