A seat at the table

Posted on by nayavill

Since starting my practicum at the Migration Health Division (MHD) at the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in May, I have worked on and/or am currently working on the following major deliverables:

  • Partnered with the MHD Logistics Team to plan and implement a three-day global health training where current migration health needs and strategic priorities for MHD were discussed amongst IOM leaders across the globe
  • Data entry and cleaning of IOM’s Health in Emergencies training program evaluations
  • Drafted content for the following reports:
    • UN Report of the Secretary-General on what IOM can offer through the development cooperation with middle income countries
      MHD Annual Report 2018
    • United Nations (UN) Interagency Task Force on Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) Report on IOM’s response to the challenge’s migrants and mobile populations experience when dealing with NCDs
    • Policy brief on international health workforce mobility
  • Assisted in the preparation of presentations on emergency response for new IOM employees serving in country offices
  • Community-based participatory research (CBPR) toolkit for IOM country offices to use when engaging with communities to tackle health challenges
(L-R) UN agency interns, Farhaa, Mikayla, and I taking a selfie right before catching a bus to meetings with colleagues from the World Health Organization.

In all, being an intern at a UN agency this summer in Geneva, Switzerland, has been such a rewarding experience. I have had a seat at tables I would have never imagined myself to be offered an invitation; for example, I got a seat at the 72nd World Health Assembly – the world’s highest health policy sitting body – where I got to meet Ministers of Health from around the world discuss and come together on new global health policies they want to set. In addition, this month I am preparing myself for a meeting I will have with diplomats from the US Mission to International Organizations in Geneva to learn more about their daily role of advancing U.S policy and job opportunities. Thankfully, my internship is still not over. This means I still have about 4 more weeks in Geneva to continue to take advantage of every opportunity that I can grab as I strive to enhance my global health portfolio.

– Fatima