nayavill – Page 31 – Gillings Around the globe

When Global Has to Be Local

Posted on June 5, 2020 by nayavill

In March, I signed an offer letter for a practicum position in Zambia, hoping to fulfill my bucket list item of moving to Africa. The day after I signed that letter, the announcement came that international travel would be prohibited for the summer of 2020. My goal is to attend medical school after earning my MPHand to then focus on surgery/oncology, so the position tending to women with gynecological malignancies at the Cancer Diseases Hospital in Lusaka was the perfect fit. I was anticipating a personalized internship in which I could follow patients throughout their treatment process, and work on the multidisciplinary team to implement an online dashboard system to better track patient progress. I am now doing all of this…from the comfort of my living room. The issue is, I didn’t want comfort. I decided to get my MPH at UNC specifically for the hands on practicum experience, but the world had other plans.

Throughout this process I am learning that the interconnectivity of the world due to globalization and technology allows global work to happen locally. It is quite amazing how a girl in Chapel Hill, North Carolina in the USA can be reporting the status of a patient about 8,000 miles away. These circumstances make me wonder about the future of global health, though. Will we be more inclined to take a comfortable seat in our living room directing the work of others across the globe? I believe there is inherent value in traveling to the locations and communities you mean to serve. It is necessary to do so to learn their genuine wants and needs instead of being holed up in the American South telling them what they should want and need. I believe this is an attribute of being a global citizen, one whose care is not restrained by national borders. It is my hope that this pandemic shows us how interdependent many countries are, especially with regards to public health and disease.

Through my work for the Zambian hospitals thus far, I have seen an example of a team of doctors who have a goal of following through, not letting patients slip through the cracks, efficiency, and executing quality medical care. It has impacted my career path because I am now affirmed that the job I have dreamed of since I was 16 is a reality. I plan to travel underserved communities to serve global populations by setting up a sustainable, efficient infrastructure and system of care. I am still grateful for the opportunities UNC has afforded me, even if they are remote.

Katerina

My Global Health Practicum Experience During a Pandemic

Posted on June 4, 2020 by nayavill

I was excited when it was confirmed that I would be working with a critical stakeholder in the fight against malnutrition in Nigeria, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA). I looked forward to traveling to field offices and communities to witness first-hand the implementation of programs targeted at tackling malnutrition in Nigeria, particularly among children aged 5 years and below. This excitement was cut short due to the unprecedented occurrence of COVID-19 pandemic and the social restrictions it brought on the global community – many have referred to this phenomenon as the “new normal”. For now, I will have to be contented with virtual interaction until travel restrictions are eased.

Prior to the start of my practicum, my travel tickets were canceled as a result of border closures. Adjustments were made to accommodate remote work hours before the reopening of borders. These unprecedented times give a literal meaning to the word “global” in my opinion. It is interesting to see how the world can be affected by a viral outbreak in a city. It demonstrates how the world is connected and makes it look somewhat “small”.

State nutrition officers of NPHCDA meet to review plans on improving Vitamin A supplementation in children under five across the 36 states in Nigeria.

Despite the work changes imposed on us by the pandemic, I have been able to formally interact with stakeholders working on Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) in Nigeria, thanks to one among many of the features of the new normal called “zoom”. These interactions have further fired my appetite to learn and contribute to the goal of improving nutritional status of vulnerable subpopulation groups in Nigeria. Under the mentorship and tutelage of Dr Nneka Onwu, who is the director of the department of community health services at NPHCDA in Nigeria, I support the nutrition division of NPHCDA. The nutrition division of NPHCDA facilitates implementation of nutrition service delivery at local government and community levels. It works on promoting adequate food supply and proper nutrition through education, assessment, counselling and support, community sensitization and mobilization.

I am thankful that I can still learn and support this ongoing program in Nigeria aimed at improving child health despite the challenging times. Interestingly, I always look forward to waking up very early due to the time difference, to attend zoom meetings. It is encouraging and really inspiring to see the passion to improve child health from the technical officers, program managers and other participants.

Even as we adapt to the new normal, I am encouraged by the knowledge that I am not alone and we are all in this together.

Stay safe!

Maureen

Using a Pandemic to Prevent Future Pandemics: My Experience with a Preparedness Practicum

Posted on June 3, 2020 by nayavill

The first day of my practicum started bright and early with a 7 AM video conference. As I logged in, I began to see faces and names of individuals from dozens of member countries and multilateral organizations as we gathered to discuss the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Typically meeting in person somewhere across the world, the GHSA was having its first virtual Steering Group meeting to discuss how it can tackle its mission to improve countries’ abilities to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease threats at this time.

The current crisis we are facing with the COVID-19 pandemic is a crisis of preparedness, and highlights the urgent need for prioritizing global health security. Too often, our world has amnesia after facing a public health response and fails to invest in the necessary structures to prevent future outbreaks and epidemics. As the world is currently laser-focused on the response and recovery phases of COVID-19, my practicum with the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Pandemic and Emerging Threats team aims to assist countries with making the case for investing in health security at this critical time and setting up sustainable and long-term approaches to public health preparedness.

My coworker Theo, who loves taking walk breaks and resting his paws on my laptop.

As a current MPH student in Applied Epidemiology at Gillings, my professional and academic career to date has focused on using data and information to understand and combat infectious diseases. Now, as we see a global pandemic unfold and reach almost every corner of the world, epidemiology curves are a regular part of the daily news and disease modeling predictions are debated on social media. This has only further fueled my passion for infectious disease epidemiology, as I plan to spend my career improving detection mechanisms and strengthening health systems to better prevent and respond to emerging threats. However, this response has also shown how quickly protectionist politics can interfere with our ability to support the most vulnerable populations and effectively fight a virus like SARS-Cov-2, so I hope that my work as part of this practicum can help further a global, collaborative, and equitable approach, even if I’m working from my kitchen table here in North Carolina rather than on the frontlines of the response.

Kirsten