Gideon Byamugisha, an Anglican priest in Uganda who in 1992 became the first African religious leader to publicly announce he was HIV positive, received the 26th Niwano Peace Prize on Thursday in recognition of his work to uphold the dignity and human rights of people living with AIDS.

Makoto Uematsu, primate of Nippon Sei Ko Kai, received the prize on behalf of the Anglican priest, who was advised, along with Norway's Gunnar Stalsett, chairman of the Niwano Peace Prize Committee, to avoid traveling to Japan due to the H1N1 flu alert.