Ananda Galappatti

Ananda Galappatti is a medical anthropologist and a practitioner in the field of mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) in situations of conflict, disaster and other adverse social conditions.

For over 25 years, Ananda's work has been concerned with improving access to knowledge and skills, building collaborative networks and enhancing coherence within the MHPSS field in Sri Lanka and also globally. His interests span the provision of MHPSS emergency responses, integration of MHPSS into post-crisis recovery and post-conflict transition, care and protection of vulnerable children, responses to gender-based violence, and services for people with mental health conditions.

Ananda is a co-founder and co-Director of the MHPSS.net online platform (hosted by the Institute for Health Policy, Sri Lanka). He also co-founded the journal Intervention in 2003 and served on its editorial board until 2021. Ananda is a visiting lecturer at the Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Colombo. From 2010-2020, Ananda served as the honorary Director for Strategy at The Good Practice Group, a social business for the development of MHPSS services, which he co-founded. He is currently working with colleagues to establish a new centre for MHPSS, based in Sri Lanka.

In 2008, Ananda received a Ramon Magsaysay Award for his work in the field of MHPSS intervention in emergencies. He was elected to the Ashoka Fellowship in 2011.

Ananda currently splits his time between Colombo and Batticaloa, on the West and East coasts of Sri Lanka.

#MHPSS #humanitarian #SocEnt

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Interviews and presentations about Ananda's work:

Podcast with Global Health Lives (2022)

Video Interview with Ramon Magsaysay Foundation (2022)

Panel at World Humanitarian Forum (2021)

Presentation to MHPSS Practitioners in Pakistan (2021)

Interview with Sasakawa Peace Foundation (2009) (Video, parts 1, 2 & 3)