Scientist Firdausi Qadri receives Ramon Magsaysay Award

Bangladeshi scientist Firdausi Qadri has been honoured with the Ramon Magsaysay Award.

Firdausi, a senior scientist at the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), has been working on research related to infectious diseases and vaccine development over the past 25 years.

Recognising Firdausi’s achievements, Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (RMAF) wrote on its website, “The RMAF board of trustees recognises her passion and life-long devotion to the scientific profession; her vision of building the human and physical infrastructure that will benefit the coming generation of Bangladeshi scientists, women scientists in particular, and her untiring contributions to vaccine development, advanced biotechnological therapeutics and critical research that has been saving millions of precious lives.”

“Her most challenging engagements came in the fight against cholera and typhoid, major diseases in Bangladesh and Asian and African countries with poor access to safe water, sanitation, education, and medical care. In this, she had a key role in the development of a more affordable oral cholera vaccine (OCV) and the typhoid conjugate vaccine (ViTCV) for adults, children, and even infants as young as nine months,” according to RMAF.

In a video message sent to RMAF, Firdausi said she dedicates the award to Bangladesh and icddr,b.

Firdausi said she would dedicate her whole life for the betterment of people of the world through public health invention.

In 2014, Firdausi founded the Institute for Developing Science and Health Initiatives (ideSHi). Last year, she also received ‘L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards’.

The Ramon Magsaysay Award is an annual award named after former Philippine president Ramon Magsaysay. The prize was established in April 1957.

“In over six decades, the Award has been bestowed on 340 outstanding individuals and organizations whose selfless service has offered their societies, Asia, and the world successful solutions to some of the most intractable problems of human development,” RMAF said.

The other Bangladeshis who received this prestigious award are: Tahrunessa Abdullah, Fazle Hasan Abed, Muhammad Yunus, Zafrullah Chowdhury, Richard William Timm, Yeasin Mohammad, Angela Gomes, Abu Sayeed Abdullah, Matiur Rahman, AHM Noman Khan and Syeda Rizwana Hasan.