Vietnamese female professor receives Ramon Magsaysay Award

She was honoured with the prestigious prize for her research on the impact of Agent Orange and her dedication to helping its victims.

According to the citation for the Ramon Magsaysay Award 2024, Phuong is being recognised for “her spirit of public service and the message of hope she continues to propagate among her people.”

“At the same time, her work serves as a dire warning for the world to avoid war at all costs as its tragic repercussions can reach far into the future,” says the website.

“She offers proof that it can never be too late to right the wrongs of war, and gain justice and relief for its hapless victims,” it noted.

Born in 1944, Phuong is the former director of the city’s Tu Du Hospital.

She is currently serving as president of the Ho Chi Minh City Society for Reproductive Medicine (HOSREM), vice-president of the Vietnam Association for Gynaecology and Obstetrics (VAGO), and vice president of the Ho Chi Minh City Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin.

After the awards, Professor Phuong transferred the entire prize money totaling US$50,000 to the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Ho Chi Minh City as part of efforts to support AO victims.

Along with Phuong, this year’s Ramon Magsaysay Award also honoured Karma Phuntsho, a former monk and scholar from Bhutan; Farwiza Farhan, an Indonesian forest conservationist; Miyazaki Hayao, a Japanese anime filmmaker; and Thailand’s Rural Doctors Movement, a group of doctors advocating healthcare in rural areas.

First established in 1957, the Ramon Magsaysay Award is given to persons - regardless of race, nationality, creed, or gender - and organisations who address issues of human development in Asia with courage and creativity as a contribution to transforming their societies for the better.