Two doctors from Belgium and Uganda will receive the Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize to honor their medical achievements in the continent, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said.

Peter Piot, 64, of Belgium, codiscovered the Ebola virus while leading a global response to AIDS, while Alex Coutinho, 53, of Uganda pioneered activities to treat AIDS patients and prevent the spread of HIV.

The prize is named after a Japanese bacteriologist who died of yellow fever in Ghana in 1928 while researching the disease. It was established in July 2006 to promote medical research and services on the continent.

The winners will receive ¥100 million each provided by the government and donations, the Cabinet Office said Wednesday.

Piot, director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, won the prize for medical research, while Coutinho, executive director of the Infectious Diseases Institute at Uganda's Makerere University, won for medical services.

The awards ceremony will be held June 1.