Denis Mukwege, a humanitarian and advocate for women’s rights, will receive the 2016 Penn Nursing Renfield Foundation Award for Global Women’s Health for his work in treating and highlighting the plight of women in the war-torn eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The award, which comes with a $100,000 cash prize, was established in 2012 by the Beatrice Renfield Foundation and is presented biennially to a leader, or leaders, in the field of global women’s health. Dr. Mukwege will receive the honor during an event at Penn on March 24, 2016.

Dr. Mukwege is an obstetrician and gynecologist who lives and works in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In 1999, he established the Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, which has become known worldwide for the treatment of survivors of sexual violence and women with severe gynecological problems. He and his staff have performed reconstructive gynecological surgery on more than 21,000 women injured as a consequence of war, including those subjected to rape. He also established a nurses’ training program, the Institut des Techniques Medicales de Panzi, to provide education and clinical training to about 50 nurses per year.