He was able to start a large and quite successful AIDS education campaign and served until 1992.
For his efforts in various development endeavors, Mechai Viravaidya has been acclaimed with numerous awards, recognition, and honorary doctoral degrees as well as the United Nations Gold Peace Medal (1981), the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service (1994), one of Asia week's “20 Great Asians” (1995), the United Nations Population Award (1997), and one of TIME Magazine's “Asian Heroes” (2006).
