Giants in History: Perla Santos-Ocampo

Filipina paediatrician and scientist Perla Santos-Ocampo (25 July 1931 – 29 June 2012) made important contributions to treatments and policies that curbed debilitating and sometimes deadly diarrhoea-related diseases and malnutrition in children. Her work helped reinforce international recommendations in areas including oral rehydration and nutrition management and also impacted public health planning. A visionary leader and mentor in the field of child development, she served on various paediatric medical associations and societies, including as a member of the World Health Organization (WHO) Expert Advisory Panel on Maternal and Child Health and the Global Technical Advisory Group of the WHO on the Control of Diarrhoeal Disease Programme. Santos-Ocampo also founded the first paediatric fellowship programme at the University of the Philippines, Manila to train childcare specialists. For her outstanding contributions, Santos-Ocampo received the Order of National Scientist, the Philippines’ highest honour for Filipino scientists.