At the International Conference for the Control and Eradication of Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, in April, Dr Adama Diallo, a staff member of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division, was elevated to the grade of Officer of the National Order of the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire. This award recognises his particular role in creating the PPR vaccine and, in a broader perspective, all the work that the Joint FAO/IAEA Division has undertaken in this area over many years.