Dr. Karthika Devarajan honoured by University of Toronto

Dr. Karthika Devarajan of North York General Hospital's Maternal, Newborn and Paediatric Care Program, is the recipient of the Social Responsibility Award in Global Women's Health and Vulnerable Populations by the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Toronto.

The award recognizes the outstanding contribution of a faculty member and a resident in the development and/or implementation of socially responsible initiatives, program or research related to global women's health and vulnerable population.

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Dr. Devarajan receiving her award
Dr. Karthika Devarajan (right) receiving her award from Dr. Rachel Spitzer.

Dr. Devarajan was nominated by her colleague, Dr. Elyse Lackie, who noted that "for the past three years, Karthika has taken time out of her busy schedule to volunteer overseas with Medecins Sans Frontier, helping countless women and families in the most unimaginable circumstances. She has travelled to Pakistan, Nigeria and most recently to Afghanistan. Each journey has placed her in more and more challenging situations, and with each mission she has demonstrated an ever-growing passion and commitment to the work she provides, and the communities she serves.”

Dr. Lackie also noted that “Dr. Devarajan has taken a personal interest in making the world a better place by choosing to leave the comfort of her home and job in Toronto, in order to provide a much needed service to women and communities much less privileged than ours.”

She ended her nomination submission by saying that Dr. Devarajan “has brought acute awareness to folks whose only experience of women's health struggles in low resource and/or conflict ravaged settings (if any) comes from media sound bites or academic writings. She has inspired so many to be more aware of the challenges faced by women, both home and abroad. She has started conversations and raised the level of awareness. For this work and her ability to share her experiences so meaningfully and eloquently, I believe she is a very worthy nominee for the Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology Social Responsibility Award."

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