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 adversity.

For nearly three decades, Ananda's work has been concerned with improving access to knowledge and skills, building collaborative platforms and enhancing coherence within the MHPSS field - in Sri Lanka and also globally. His interests span the provision and integration of MHPSS in humanitarian, development and peacebuilding contexts, and he has experience working with international, state, civil society and community groups to implement MHPSS approaches across diverse sectors and services.

Ananda is a co-founder and co-Director of the MHPSS.net online platform. He co-founded the journal Intervention in 2003 and served on its editorial board until 2021. At present, he also leads an MHPSS team based at the Institute for Health Policy in Sri Lanka, and is a visiting lecturer at the Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Colombo, where he has taught since 2005. He currently co-chairs the IASC MHPSS Reference Group's thematic working group on Community-Based MHPSS. He also serves as a member of the Lancet Commission on Racism and Child Health.

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.

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Interviews and presentations about Ananda's work:

Panel on Transforming Power Dynamics in MHPSS Localisation (2024)

Podcast with IFRC on 20th Anniversary of Asian Tsunami Disaster (2024)

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)