Siraporn Sawasdivorn
1994-1995 Humphrey Fellow at Emory University, is a major force in helping Thai mothers to improve the health of newborn babies.

Photo of Dr. Sawasdivorn

In 1996 when Dr. Siraporn Sawasdivorn returned to Thailand following her Humphrey Fellowship at Emory University in the United States, she did so with renewed enthusiasm for furthering the practice of breastfeeding in the country. The pediatrician had been advocate of breastfeeding since 1989 when she was on the staff of Mahasarakham General Hospital in Thailand. Her commitment to bringing more attention in Thailand to the fundamental health and emotional benefits that breastfeeding has for babies and mothers grew after her Humphrey Fellowship as did her influence in the Thai medical community.

Dr. Sawasdivorn was well respected in her profession before her Humphrey Fellowship began. Upon her return to Thailand from her Humphrey Fellowship, she was named the Woman Doctor of the Year by the Thai Medical Women's Association. From the day she returned, she noticed how much her working style had changed and her management skills had improved. Professional visits to the National Institutes of Health, the Children's Nutrition Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, and other institutions during her fellowship had broadened her understanding of the impact of breastfeeding, obesity and other practices on children's health. She saw the close connection between community support for breastfeeding and the rate of breastfeeding in communities where its benefits are understood.

Dr. Sawasdivorn says, "I took up breastfeeding as my main child health advocacy. Breastfeeding was not only vital to the health of our little ones, but it was borderless, covering families and societies of any size, background and country."

Dr. Sawasdivorn’s efforts and those of her team led to the strong support of the Thai Health Fund and other Thai health institutions for the practice of breastfeeding. The Thai Health Fund established the Thai Breastfeeding Center (TBC) and Dr. Sawasdivorn was appointed its first Secretary General. Subsequently, Dr. Sawasdivorn and her colleagues approached the Royal Family about supporting breastfeeding as a means of bettering child health. The Royal Family decided to help bring the benefits of breastfeeding to national attention by supporting the "Family Bonding with Love" project whose motto is "breastfeeding is the first drop of family bonding."

Dr. Sawasdivorn and her TBC colleagues worked with the Thailand Ministry of Public Health and other health network support organizations to establish lactation clinics, mothers' support groups, and health personnel support programs throughout the country, and on the clarification of the code of marketing for breast milk substitutes. At her initiative, the first textbook for academics and medical students on practical management of breastfeeding was developed, a large number of TBC books on the topic were published, and a media campaign was launched. In the six regions of the country where the Royal Family's breastfeeding project is underway, breastfeeding has risen to 40 to 80 percent of newborns compared with 5 to 16 percent nationally.

In her current position as Director of Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health, Department of Medical Science, Dr. Sawasdivorn continues to share the skills she gained as a Humphrey Fellow by leading health promotion campaigns at the institutional level in national nutrition, food quality control, behavioral modification, basic epidemiology, and information management. In 2006 and 2008, Dr. Sawasdivorn returned to Emory University to give presentations to Humphrey Fellows from many countries on breastfeeding as a best practice. Her pride in being a Humphrey fellow is something she mentions every time she goes up on stage to give one of her presentations on breastfeeding. In March 2009, Dr. Sawasdivorn and three colleagues began work at the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center in Italy on the first Thai Breastfeeding Atlas, a book which is expected to be of considerable importance for primary and tertiary care of local populations in Thailand.

Pratiwi Sudarmono
Associate Prof. of Microbiology, Univ. of Indonesia; Chair, Professional Women's Association, an Indonesian NGO with millions of members; Fulbright New Century Scholar to the U.S., 2001-2002

Photo of Dr. Pratiwi Sudarmono

Pratiwi Sudarmono, Ph.D., is the Vice Dean of the Medical Faculty at the University of Indonesia in Jakarta and advisor for Bandung Institute of Technology. She has collaborated with the Infectious Disease Hospital in Jakarta and Primary Health Care stations throughout Indonesia on the development of health systems and health management in rural areas, combating tropical illnesses through better management of diseases.

Through the "Mother Friendly Movement," the results of her laboratory research in tropical diseases are being implemented in rural communities to reduce the Infant Mortality Rate and Maternal Mortality Rate through the better management of infectious diseases in the population. Her research, which concentrated on the gender role in public health to reduce the infant mortality rate and the maternal mortality rate in Indonesia, earned her the "Bintang Jasa Pratama," the Indonesian national medal for outstanding achievement in science and technology.

While Professor Sudarmono was an Associate Professor of Microbiology at the University of Indonesia, in 2000 and 2001, she was selected as a Fulbright New Century Scholar. The Fulbright New Century Scholar Program gathers 30 outstanding research scholars and professionals from around the world each year for collaboration on a topic of international significance. The program provides a platform for scholars to engage in debate and dialogue based on multidisciplinary research. Dr. Sudarmono’s research project was on the Communication for Social Change: A Longitudinal Analysis of Social Networks, Ideation and Maternal-Neonatal Health Behavior in Ethnic Timor, Indonesia.

"My participation in NCS has provided me with new, rich, intellectual and academic input into my research methodology and sharpened its analysis so that the results might advocate better health policies in the health reform process in Indonesia. Although the research in its scope is local, the issue of gender empowerment in connection with achieving health equity and access for the poorest people through good governance is a substantial issue worldwide."