Dr Chesmal Siriwardhana - Commemorative podcast
This is a podcast to commemorate and honour the life and work of Dr Chesmal Siriwardhana who was an Associate Professor in Global Mental Health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
Dr. Chesmal Siriwardhana was a leading academic in the field of global mental health, migration and ethics. Dr. Siriwardhana was unexpectedly killed in a traffic accident on 9th April 2017, but the impact of his substantial contribution to the field of global mental health and migration will be of value for years to come.
Dr. Siriwardhana’s work with conflict-displaced people focused on practical and significant ways to address mental health issues for those in need. Dr. Siriwardhana wanted his research to have a real impact in the world; he valued evidence generation and theory, but felt it was vital for research to create meaningful change for people in the world. His work on the COMGAP-S project exemplified this approach. The aim of this project is to understand the mental health needs of conflict-displaced populations in Northern Sri Lanka to address the treatment gap and increase the effectiveness of mental health services. The team leading this project works closely with the community and major stakeholders as Dr. Siriwardhana was committed to ensuring programme implementation was accessible, culturally appropriate and sustainable over the long-term.
Dr. Siriwardhana had an incredible generosity of spirit, endless energy and a heartfelt passion for his work. He was not only a gifted academic, but also a highly valued mentor and friend and will be deeply missed.
- Shannon Doherty, PI, COMGAP-S
The first Chesmal Siriwardhana Memorial Lecture on Global Mental Health
Listen to the first Chesmal Siriwardhana Memorial Lecture on “Mental Health in Complex Emergencies, with a Focus on Sri Lanka” with keynote speaker Dr Barbara Lopes-Cardozo, MD, MPH held at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. This will be an annual lecture series to celebrate and commemorate the life and work of Chesmal.
Read the programme
