Armida Fernandez


Armida Fernandez is an Indian neonatologist and pediatrician who drastically cut infant mortality. She is known for establishing Asia's first human milk bank at the Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital in Mumbai in 1989. In 2026, she was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian honor, for her contributions to medicine.

Early life and education

Armida Fernandez was born in. She is the daughter of Armando Menezes, an Indian civil servant, writer, academic and poet who wrote in English. She was born in Dharwad in Karnataka. She completed her MBBS in Hubli and her post-graduation at KEM Hospital, Bombay.

Career

Fernandez joined the Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital. In 1977, she becomes the head of the Department of Neonatology. During her tenure, she observed high mortality rates among infants whose mothers could not breastfeed due to illness or other complications. At the time, infants were often fed commercial formula or cow's milk, which frequently led to infections.
In 1989, she founded Asia's first human milk bank at Sion Hospital. The facility was designed to collect, pasteurize, and store donated breast milk to provide essential nutrition to premature and vulnerable infants. Despite initial skepticism from the medical community regarding the safety and cultural acceptance of donated milk, the initiative proved successful in reducing infant infection rates at the hospital.
After retiring from Sion Hospital, in 1999, Fernandez founded SNEHA, a non-profit organization focused on improving health outcomes for women and children in urban slums. In 2000, Fernandez she was chosen as the president of the Indian Academy of Pediatrics in Mumbai.

Awards and Recognition