Lankan Doctor honoured

Edward Arambewela

USA: The American Biographical Institute USA has nominated Dr. Terence Perera to be a recipient of this year's Man of The Year Commemorative Gold Medal. The Institute confers a small number of men, representing a variety of countries, this medal in recognition of contributions made to society.

Dr. Perera served for over 12 years as World Health Organisation (WHO) Senior Advisor in Maternal and Child Health for the South East Asia Region. Prior to that, he was a Consultant Paediatrician in the Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka, and was among the pioneers in the field of paediatrics in this country.

He was appointed consultant paediatrician to the General Hospital Anuradhapura in 1962, the first paediatric post for the North Central Province. Here, as the Chairman to the Committee on Rehabilitation of Disabled Children, he initiated a programme for Education of Disabled Children in Regular Schools, for the province.

In the area of control of infectious diseases and immunization, he was helpful in evolving a scheme for data recording of infectious diseases and immunization, in children in paediatric wards in hospitals and child welfare centres in the community.

His active involvement in pioneering work in Oral Rehydration Therapy (ORT) in this country is documented by WHO, including the opening of the first Oral Rehydration Centre at the General hospital, Kalutara in the 1960s as the Consultant Paediatrician.

ORT is now recognized as a top medical advance that has saved several million lives of children in developing countries, dying from diarrhoea and dehydration. He was also instrumental in initiating an outreach premature baby service, in collaboration with the then Institute of Hygiene, Kalutara, to follow up the infants after their return home from hospital.