The Ramon Magsaysay Award is presented in formal ceremonies in Manila, Philippines on August 31st, the birth anniversary of the former Philippine President whose ideals inspired the Award’s creation in 1957.
- The Ramon Magsaysay Award was conceived to honor greatness of spirit shown in service to the peoples of Asia—regardless of race, gender, or religion.
- It has been learnt that the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation had zeroed in on the former Health Minister of Kerala KK Shailaja but her Party CPM denied permission to accept the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award for 2022.
64th Ramon Magsaysay Award winners
- Sotheara Chhim, Psychiatrist (Cambodia): Cambodian Sotheara Chhim has led the treatment of thousands of traumatised survivors of the Khmer Rouge’s brutal rule and other patients in his country.
- Tadashi Hattori, Opthalmologist (Japan): Japanese ophthalmologist Tadashi Hattori was awarded the prize for training local doctors who have treated thousands of Vietnamese.
- Bernadette Madrid, Pediatrician (Philippines): Pediatrician Bernadette Madrid drew attention by providing treatment, raising awareness and engaging policy-makers and civic groups to address the child abuse issue.
- Gary Bencheghib, Activist & Filmmaker (Indonesia): Bencheghib took up film-making in New York and produced more than a hundred videos on plastic pollution and environmental protection that millions have watched on YouTube, Facebook and other social media platforms. A 2017 documentary on the polluted Citarum River in West Java helped prompt President Joko Widodo’s administration to begin a seven-year rehabilitation programme. He won the award for “his inspiring fight against marine plastic pollution.
