The outstanding contribution made in the field of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights by eminent Egyptian physician Professor Mahmoud Fathalla, Japanese pioneer of integrated health services Mr. Yasyo Kon and leading youth advocate Ms. Mel Rose Dingle from the Philippines, has been recognized at an awards ceremony hosted by the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) in London, 21 November 2009.
Chaired by IPPF’s President, Trinidadian child and adolescent psychiatrist Dr. Jacqueline Sharpe, the awards are chosen by an IPPF panel of experts and given to individuals who have made outstanding contributions in the field of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights.
Professor Fathalla is one of the world’s leading obstetrician/gynaecologists, his pioneering work in associating maternal mortality with medical ethics and human rights ensured that the world saw the women behind the global maternal mortality statistics.
Professor Fathalla is a social leader who has taken decisive action in pursuit of the promotion, realization and defense of sexual and reproductive health as a basic human right.
Dr. Fathalla has won many honours, such as the Pioneer Award from the President of Egypt, while British and American Colleges of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists have made him an Honorary Fellow. A maternal health advocate, he was one of the founders of the Safe Motherhood Initiative.
Mr Yasuo Kon is the Chairperson of the Japan Family Planning Association and founder member of the Japan Organisation for International Cooperation for Family Planning (JOICFP).
The IPPF award is made in recognition of Mr. Kon’s role as a pioneer and innovator in maternal and child health and family planning.
The award also recognizes the global of impact Mr. Kon’s work in family planning, which began in Japan and has been successfully replicated in numerous other countries in the Asia Pacific region.
Mr. Kon is a pioneer in maternal and child health who played a critical role in bringing family planning to millions of people not only in Japan but around the world, which has had a major impact on improving human health and human rights.
Ms. Mel Rose Dingle’s involvement in Sexual Reproductive Health started in 1998 when she became an Adolescent Health Peer Educator in her High School, since then she ahs gone on to become a leading youth advocate for the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of young people everywhere.
Ms Dingle’s involvement as a volunteer of the Family Planning Organisation of the Philippines began in 2001 when she joined FPOP’s Youth Center - the Davao Teen Center - where she served as a counsellor and a training coordinator.
She has been instrumental in forging new and innovative approaches to the sexual and reproductive health of young people in the Asia-Pacific Region and advancing the rights of young people everywhere.
Recently, Ms Dingle was a member of the International Steering Committee at the Asia Pacific Conference on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Beijing.
Contact information:
Paul Bell Tel. +44 (0) 20 7939 8233
Mob. +44 (0) 7799 335533
Email pbell@ippf.org