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Black's 'extraordinary' tale of pregnancy in Sierra Leone wins £1k Moore Prize
Belly Woman: Birth, Blood and Ebola: The Untold Story (Neem Tree Press) by gynaecologist Benjamin Black has won the 2023 Moore Prize worth £1,000, marking the first time a health-related book has won the award.
Awarded by the Christopher G Moore Foundation, it is the only prize which celebrates books with human rights as their theme alongside literary excellence.
The judges described Belly Woman, which explores the maternal, sexual and reproductive crises within the humanitarian emergency of Sierra Leone in 2014, as “an extraordinary book on many levels".
The panel added: "In telling the story of the Ebola and Covid-19 crises in Sierra Leone, Black wrote in a moving way about its victims, highlighting the voices of women, giving them agency.
“Their stories were interwoven to powerfully illustrate how a doctor in the field can practice medicine in ways that guide the advancement of global health and human rights. On a different level, [Black] also showed the disparities between the global north and south through a human rights lens, reminding us that these health crises are not a new phenomenon, and that the international community has repeatedly been incapable of protecting human rights.”
The 2023 jury included Dr Jackie Dugard, senior lecturer of human rights at Columbia University, Roja Fazaeli, professor in law and Islamic studies at the University of Galway, and human rights barrister, academic, author and broadcaster Geoffrey Robertson KC.
Black is an obstetrician and gynaecologist. He is also a specialist advisor to international aid organisations, including Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders and works around the world to improve maternal, sexual and reproductive healthcare in the most challenging of environments.
He said: “It’s been my privilege to share Belly Woman, the untold story of what happens to pregnant women when catastrophe strikes. I hope this award will raise awareness of the ongoing challenges faced in this underserved area and the lifesaving work of my colleagues all over the world.”
The Christopher G Moore Foundation was established in 2015 to support and promote the values of human rights and literary excellence in non-fiction.
