Fe del Mundo

Fe Villanueva del Mundo (born Fé Primitiva del Mundo y Villanueva; November 27, 1911 – August 6, 2011) Her pioneering work in pediatrics in the Philippines spanned eight decades.

She gained international recognition, including the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service in 1977. In 1980, she was conferred the rank and title of National Scientist of the Philippines, and in 2010, she received the Order of Lakandula. She was the first female president of the Philippine Pediatric Society and the first woman to be named National Scientist of the Philippines. She was also the first Asian to be elected president of the Philippine Medical Association in its 65-year history, and the first Asian to be voted president of the Medical Women's International Association.

Early life and education Del Mundo was born at 120 Cabildo Street in the district of Intramuros, Manila, on November 27, 1911. She was one of eight children of Bernardo del Mundo and Paz (née Villanueva; d. 1925). Her family home was opposite the Manila Cathedral. Bernardo was a prominent lawyer from Marinduque who served one term in the Philippine Assembly representing the province of Tayabas. Three of her eight siblings died in infancy, She then went to the UP College of Medicine, at the original campus of the University of the Philippines in Manila. She earned her medical degree in 1933, graduating as class valedictorian. She passed the medical board exam that same year, placing third among the examinees. Her exposure while in medical school to various health conditions afflicting children in the provinces, particularly in Marinduque, led her to choose pediatrics as her specialization.

Postgraduate studies

After del Mundo graduated from UPM, President Manuel Quezon offered to pay for her further training, in a medical field of her choice, at any school in the United States. its first Asian student, or even "said to have been admitted to Harvard Medical school by mistake." However, according to an archivist at Harvard's Center for the History of Medicine,

Harvard had had thousands of Asian students by the time Del Mundo arrived there. Del Mundo returned to Harvard Medical School's Children's Hospital in 1939 for a two-year research fellowship. She also enrolled at the Boston University School of Medicine, earning a Master's degree in bacteriology in 1940. After the Japanese authorities shut down the hospice in 1943, del Mundo was asked by Manila mayor León Guinto to head a children's hospital under the auspices of the city government. The hospital was later converted into a full-care medical center to cope with the mounting casualties during the Battle of Manila, and would be renamed the North General Hospital (later, the Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center). Del Mundo would remain the hospital's director until 1948.

Del Mundo joined the faculty of the University of Santo Tomas, then the Far Eastern University in 1954. She became the head of the Department of Pediatrics at Far Eastern University - Nicanor Reyes Medical Foundation for more than two decades. In the 1950s, she established a small medical pediatric clinic to pursue a private practice. Del Mundo founded the Children's Medical Center Foundation in 1957. In 1996, she established the Institute of Maternal and Child Health, an institution that trains doctors and nurses.

Establishment of the Children's Medical Center

The Children's Medical Center of the Philippines, established in 1957.

Frustrated by the bureaucratic constraints in working for a government hospital, del Mundo desired to establish her own pediatric hospital.

In 1958, del Mundo conveyed her personal ownership of the hospital to a board of trustees.

Establishment of the Children's Medical Center Foundation When she founded the Children's Medical Center Foundation in 1957, she was able to bring medical care to Filipinos in the rural areas of the Philippines who had little to no access to health care. This foundation saved thousands of children by establishing family planning clinics and treating preventable health issues such as poor nutrition and dehydration.

Later life and death Del Mundo was still active in her practice of pediatrics into her 90s. She died of cardiac arrest on August 6, 2011, three months before her 100th birthday, and was buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

Research and innovations Del Mundo was noted for her pioneering work on infectious diseases in Philippine communities. Undeterred by the lack of well-equipped laboratories in post-war Philippines, she unhesitatingly sent specimens or blood samples for analysis abroad.

Del Mundo was active in the field of public health, with special concerns towards rural communities. She organized rural extension teams to advise mothers on breastfeeding and child care. the first Filipino woman to be so named.

Among the international honors bestowed on del Mundo was the Elizabeth Blackwell Award for Outstanding Service to Mankind, handed in 1966 by Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and the citation as Outstanding Pediatrician and Humanitarian by the International Pediatric Association in 1977. Also in 1977, del Mundo was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service.

Dr. Fe del Mundo was an honorary member of the American Pediatric Society

On April 22, 2010, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo awarded del Mundo the Order of Lakandula with the rank of Bayani at the Malacañan Palace.

Posthumously, she was conferred the Grand Collar of the Order of the Golden Heart Award by President Benigno Aquino III in 2011.

On November 27, 2018, a Google Doodle was displayed to celebrate del Mundo's 107th birthday.

Selected publications Articles

Books

Chapters

Thesis