KUALA LUMPUR, April 11 (Bernama) -- President and founder of the Mental Illness Awareness and Support Association (MIASA) Anita Abu Bakar has received the ‘The Patient Champion for Science and Medicine’ award at the 2022 Metrodora Awards ceremony.
MIASA said in a statement today that the Metrodora Award was given to Anita in recognition of her efforts in fighting for the rights of the mentally ill.
“I am humbled and honoured to receive the Metrodora Award this year. In the field we fight on, stigma, discrimination, injustice and rights violations are not uncommon, and this is what most of our peers go through.
“I believe that this recognition awarded by the International Alliance of Patients Organisations (IAPO) will further strengthen the voices of our peers, and catalyse the advancement of human rights as individuals battling mental illness and in turn, trigger sustainable solutions and eliminate the stigma surrounding mental illness,” Anita said in the statement.
National Alliance of Mental Health (NAMH) patron Senator Datuk Ras Adiba Radzi, who also congratulated Anita on her success, said it was an impressive recognition.
“I have worked closely with Anita and I am impressed with her efforts in the field and her selfless nature of putting others before her.
"It was shown very obviously after the country was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, and now those who have mentally issues have someone they can count on," Ras Adiba said.
Sharing Ras Adiba’s sentiments was Malaysian Psychiatric Association president Dr Hazli Zakaria, who described Anita as a person who does not know the meaning of despair and said that the international recognition is a joy for the mental health community in Malaysia.
Anita received The Patient Champion for Science and Medicine award at the 2022 Metrodora Awards in a ceremony held virtually on March 31.
Metrodora is a prestigious international award that honours recipients by giving awards in recognition to women of prominence and innovators in the fields of science as well as medicine.
-- BERNAMA
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