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Congratulations to the dedicated and pioneering staff of the Kalmunai Mental Health Unit for receiving the 2011 Award of Excellence in Leadership by the Asian Federation of Psychiatric Associations 3rd World Congress in Melbourne, Australia! In addition to this great honor, Dr. Judy Jeyakumar, director of the unit, received the 2011 Young Asian Psychiatrist award for his incredible commitment, ambition, and seemingly endless energy in improving mental health care services for his patients and for persons in need throughout the country.

The Kalmunai Psychiatric Unit, despite bearing the brunt of war and many natural disasters (including the 2004 tsunami and repeated flooding) has achieved numerous firsts toward improving the mental health of the people of the Kalmunai region. Dr.Judy Jeyakumar has spearheaded change and invented numerous methods in coping with the reality of neglect in mental health, mobilizing both government and nongovernmental organizations recourses to help the mentally ill in around the Kalmunai Base Hospital’s psychiatric unit. The unit itself consists of an acute in-patient unit, rehabilitation unit, gender-based unit, specialized unit for mothers and babies, female geriatric and female adolescent unit--altogether thirty beds under one umbrella. In honor of the selfless work of Dr. Judy and his team, the Asian Federation of Psychiatric Associations 3rd World Congress presented Dr. Judy with these awards on August 2, 2011 in Melbourne, Australia.

The Asian Federation of Psychiatric Associations was founded on September 11, 2005 and launched in February 2007 in Lahore, Pakistan with the aim of improving psychiatry in Asia. Many of the lower income countries of Asia are still suffering from neglect of mental health teaching, practical training, services and lack of research. There are problems of resources in trying to change archaic practices and instill the seeds of a humane approach to care for the mentally ill both in health care services and in communities in Asia.

Asia is by far the largest continent on earth with a population of well over three billion (or 60% of the total population of the world). It has 4 of the 6 World Health Organization regional offices of the world that cover its health and mental health needs. Despite their presence, psychiatry and mental health remain very much maligned and neglected. Nevertheless, there have been organizations and individuals in many parts of Asia who have against all odds gone above and beyond the call of duty to try and change psychiatry, its teaching, its services, and its professional standing in their countries.