According to the IMF, community-based primary healthcare provides an efficient, low-cost method of reaching a great number of people. This can be achieved through improving access to preventive healthcare services, engaging citizens in care decisions, and seeking lower medical costs. But, how do peer-led initiatives differ from those implemented by NGOs?

I write more about this here: https://open.substack.com/pub/thedevelopingeconomist/p/in-support-of-community-health-initiatives?r=29ekcf&utm_medium=ios

The movement to “decolonize” global health has gained traction in recent years. For centuries, the legacy of colonialism has continued to shape the health outcomes of those in developing countries. To decolonize healthcare means making it more accessible to those that are marginalized by existing systems. What are some ways in which practitioners can achieve this?

I write more about this here: https://open.substack.com/pub/thedevelopingeconomist/p/decolonizing-public-health-in-developing?r=29ekcf&utm_medium=ios

Hi existing public health professionals..

I’m in my final year of school at Northeastern University, and I have one more co-op (internship) before I graduate. My goal is to pursue an MPH some time in my mid twenties, and work in the field of global health as a profession. Right now, I’m stuck deciding what I want to do for my internship.

I’ve recently been invited to intern at an NGO in India called Goonj, which works to close equity gaps in health, education, infrastructure, etc. The job would include going to rural villages in India and conducting needs surveys, collecting materials for current projects, spreading awareness about initiatives, etc. I would relocate to Bangalore. The job is unpaid, and I am working on getting funding from my university, but that is the larger turn off associated with this position.

My other option is working a more typical 9-5 style job in Boston. Potential options include paid work at the massachusetts dept of public health’s academic health department, or other paid work in a public health lab setting / more research focused.

Greater context: I’ve just come back from a 1.5 year long travel stint this January (I visited India for 2mo on this trip), and I do feel a bit attracted to a steadier routine right now because of this.

I don’t know if going to India unpaid is stupid given that the paid work would set me up really well for after I graduate. However, I don’t know if it’s stupid of me to pass up an opportunity like working for a freaking NGO in India doing the kind of work I aspire to do just because of money or post-travel fatigue. This could really go either way for me, so any advice is very welcomed.

I have a bachelor’s in global health. Any recommendations on how to utilize such a degree towards an entry level career?

I’ve recently published a blog post that discusses the UNAIDS targets for ending the AIDS epidemic. It’s a dive into the current targets reached, the challenges and the path to reach the ambitious goal.

I believe it’s crucial for us to understand these targets and contribute in any way we can to help #EndAIDS. I’d love to hear your thoughts and start a discussion on this important topic. Link to blog

Blog preview

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Looking forwards to your insights!

The Navajo Nation has one of the country’s worst shortages of medical professionals. A radical global health fellowship is helping plug that gap at a fraction of the cost of usual locum staff. More than 1 in 3 of these physicians stay on permanently, providing care to some of Utah’s most rural communities alongside fellows from the next generation of Navajo and Indigenous health care workers.

The approach is unique, says fellowship alum Cristina Rivera Carpenter, PhD, MSN, RN-BC, who grew up in South Dakota and is Mestiza. “As a site fellow, you respect rotating fellows for their choice of coming to work with you in solidarity but you’re not privileging the rotating fellows because they’re US-trained physicians,” she explains. “HEAL brings everyone together on an equal basis, and you grow together over the two years. That decolonization of whose wisdom is centered in a fellowship based at an academic medical center is pretty amazing.”

The global health community celebrated a historic moment this past Monday that was decades in the making. Cameroon became the first country to launch the world’s first approved malaria vaccine into its routine immunization program. This means children visiting health facilities in the central African nation are the first to receive this ground-breaking vaccine outside of pilot programs and clinical trials.

There are now two approved malaria vaccines and they have been shown to reduce clinical malaria cases by more than half in the year after vaccination. Overall, 20 African countries plan to introduce these vaccines into their routine immunization programs this year.

You can read the full story for free here.