Coming from Sri Lanka, I joined IDRC in Ottawa in 1984. My starting position was Senior Program Officer in Tropical and Infectious Diseases in the Health Sciences Division. In that role, I visited multiple countries around the world, interacting with developing-country researchers to develop and implement interdisciplinary research projects and training workshops of relevance to disease prevention and control.
During my time at IDRC, I was involved in producing many publications and workshop reports, and collaborated with colleagues throughout the Centre, both in Ottawa and overseas. I left IDRC, as Senior Program Specialist, in 1994 to join USAID, first in Washington, DC, and then in Nepal. During my 10 years with USAID’s Environmental Health Project as its Program Director of Tropical Disease Prevention, I undertook various inter-country cross-border activities; several publications ensued.
My fondest memories of my time at IDRC include my work in Jordan, interacting with the Crown Prince and his personal physician on projects related to the control of leishmaniasis in Jordan and surrounding countries, published as the proceedings of The Third Pan-Arab Seminar on Zoonotic and Parasitic Diseases. I also very fondly remember and am proud of the many significant results achieved through multiple projects and training workshops in Peru on malaria, leishmaniasis, and cysticercosis, which generated various prevention and control strategies.
In 2004, I moved back to Sri Lanka and established a consulting company, TEDHA (Tropical and Environmental Disease and Health Associates). In 2009, TEDHA was invited by the Sri Lankan government Anti Malaria Campaign to jointly carry out its National Malaria Elimination program. The last case of malaria in Sri Lanka was reported in 2014, and the country was declared malaria-free by WHO in 2015. In addition, in 2004, TEDHA undertook extensive national-level post-tsunami work in the area of community health. From 2014 to 2017, I acted as President of the Association of Former International Civil Servants (AFICS), Sri Lanka.
I am now retired and, in 2018, relocated from Sri Lanka to Los Angeles, where my son and his family live. I also get back to Ottawa now and again to visit my daughter and her family. My son is in the entertainment industry and has won an Emmy for his work. My daughter is with Global Affairs Canada. That same year, I was stuck by a car while walking back to my condominium. I ended up in intensive care and underwent multiple surgeries. It was touch and go, but I am now fully recovered except for some leg stiffness. At least, I am back playing tennis, which has amazed my doctors, and once again enjoying a good walk!
I still highly cherish my time with IDRC, and the work, of course, which continues to have a positive impact in many countries of the developing world.
Bulletin 75
January 2025