Doctor who helped Agent Orange victims wins Magsaysay Award

MANILA, Philippines – A Vietnamese doctor who campaigns for justice for victims of the powerful defoliant dioxin “Agent Orange” used by U.S. forces during the Vietnam War is one of this year's winners of the Ramon Magsaysay Awards, considered Asia's version of the Nobel Prize.

Other winners announced on Saturday include a group of doctors working to provide adequate healthcare for Thailand's rural poor, an Indonesian environmentalist, a Japanese animator who addresses complex children's issues and a Bhutanese academic who promotes his country's cultural heritage to help with current problems.

The annual awards were first presented in 1958. They are named after a Philippine president who died in a plane crash in 1957 and recognize “intellectual greatness” in selfless service to the people of Asia.

“The award recognizes those who challenge the status quo with integrity by courageously tackling systemic injustices, transforming critical sectors through breakthrough solutions that advance societal progress, and addressing pressing global issues with unwavering resilience,” said Susanna B. Afan, president of the award’s foundation.

Vietnamese doctor Nguyen Thi Ngoc Phuong has extensively researched the devastating long-term effects of Agent Orange. She said she first encountered it as a resident in the late 1960s, when she delivered babies with severe birth defects caused by long-term exposure to the highly toxic chemical, according to the award ceremony.

“Her work is a stark warning to the world to avoid war at all costs, as its tragic effects can reach far into the future,” the Magsaysay Foundation said. “She is proof that it can never be too late to right the wrongs of war and obtain justice and relief for its helpless victims.”

During the Vietnam War, American forces used Agent Orange to defoliate the Vietnamese jungles and destroy the crops of the Vietnamese communists (Viet Cong) who were fighting against South Vietnam and the United States.

Between 1962 and 1971, the US military sprayed around 37 million liters of the chemical warfare agent dioxin, used in Agent Orange, across large parts of South Vietnam. Dioxin remains in the soil and in the sediment of lakes and rivers for generations. It can enter the food supply via the fat of fish and other animals.

Vietnam reports that up to four million citizens were exposed to the herbicide and up to three million people became ill, including the children of those exposed to the herbicide during the war.

Indonesian Farwiza Farhan received the award for his help in leading a group to protect the Leuser ecosystem, a 2.6 million hectare forest on the island of Sumatra in his country's Aceh province that has supported some of the world's most endangered species, the foundation said.

This undated photo provided by the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation shows Farwiza Farhan of Indonesia, the 2024 recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Emerging Leaders, sitting next to an elephant. (Ramon Magsaysay Awards Foundation via AP)

Her group helped secure a court ruling that resulted in a $26 million fine against a palm oil company that burned forests and stopped the construction of a hydroelectric dam that would have threatened elephant habitat, the foundation said.

Miyazaki Hayao, a popular animator in Japan, was recognized by the awards ceremony as co-founding Studio Ghibli in 1985, a leading provider of animated films for children. Three Ghibli productions have been among the top 10 highest-grossing films in Japan.

In this undated photo provided by Arai through the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation, 2024 Ramon Magsaysay Award winner Miyazaki Hayao of Japan reads a script. (Arai/Ramon Magsaysay Awards Foundation via AP)

“He takes on complicated issues and uses his art to make them understandable to children, whether it is about protecting the environment, working for peace or advocating for the rights and role of women in society,” the foundation said.

The Rural Doctors Movement, a group of Thai doctors, received the award for its “decades-long struggle … to provide adequate and affordable health care for its people, especially the rural poor,” the foundation said.

“By advocating for the rural poor, the movement ensures that no one is left behind as the country moves toward greater economic prosperity and modernization,” it says.

Karma Phuntsho from Bhutan, a former Buddhist monk and Oxford-educated scholar, was recognised by the awards organisation for his academic work in the field of Buddhism and Bhutan's rich history and cultural heritage, which are used to address his country's current and future problems, including unemployment and access to quality education.

This undated photo provided by the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation shows the 2024 Ramon Magsaysay Award winner, Karma Phuntsho, left, of Bhutan. (Ramon Magsaysay Awards Foundation via AP)

The winners will receive their awards and a cash prize on November 16 at the Metropolitan Theater in Manila.