Lourdes L. Ignacio

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Biography

Professor Emeritus Lourdes Ladrido-Ignacio obtained her Doctor of Medicine degree  from the University of the Philippines, and continued her residency training in Psychiatry in Manila. She  later took postresidency studies in Community and Social Psychiatry at the State University of New York Syracuse, New York. As a psychiatrist, she has devoted much of herself in working towards the betterment of mental health service in her country as well as other Asian countries. She was the chief investigator for the Philippines in the WHO collaborative study undertaken in 7 developing countries on Strategies for Extending Mental Health Care in General Health care. This study was part of the WHO Health for All program and had provided the evidence that it is feasible to undertake mental health care at the primary level of health care. Dr Ignacio published a book: "Mental Health Care in the Community" with the support of the WHO Western Pacific Regional Office which has served as reference in the training of existing primary health workers in mental health. This book has been translated in Mongolian as well as for the training materials in mental health programs in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam where she served as WHO Short Trem Consultant.  She  participated as Consultant in a large collaborative research  project funded by the Japanese International Cooperative Agency in Indonesia, involving 3 major universities.Among her significant contributions was her work as the Chairperson of the Mental Health Task Force in Disaster Management organized by the Philippine President, Corazon Aquino in 1990 after a killer earthquake struck the country.. The Task Force found its work more extensive, when the Mt Pinatubo volcano struck.  This  work was documented in the book ,“From Victims to Survivors" which was awarded by the National Academy of Science and Technology as its 1994 Most Outstanding Publication. Another book, “Ginhawa: Well-being in the Aftermath of Disasters” was published a decade later. Both are recognized as important references for a psychosocial intervention program in the aftermath of disasters. She is presently Project Director of the post Haiyan disaster community mental health project in Marabut Samar, being implemented by the World Association for Psychosocial a Rehabilitation, Philippines( WAPR Phil)  and the Chrsitoffer Blinden Mission (CBM). Upon the request of the local governments affected, Dr Ignacio and her team has sustained the implementation of the Project, in the last two years, developing community mental health services and sustaining the recovery of the survivors of the disaster. This has led Dr Ignacio to revise an earlier book to a recently written: "Transfroming Lives: Mental Health Care of the Community" (2016), where focus is on recovery and the promotion of mental health and well being.She has been involved in international agencies and organizations, notably, the World Health Organization and the World Association for Psychosocial Rehabilitation, being its immediate past President. She has been awarded as outstanding researcher and teacher in the clinical sciences, . In 2014 she was cited for an  Outsatanding Achievement Award by the Asian Federation of Psychiatric Associations and in June 2016, the Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award from the University of the Philippines Alumni Association.

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