2017 UNC-IntraHealth Fellows Explored Wide Range of Health Topics in Summer Program
October 15, 2017
Gillings School of Global Public Health
Graduates of the eighth annual UNC-IntraHealth Summer Fellows Program spent 10 weeks working side by side with global health professionals at IntraHealth International this summer, taking part in projects that dealt with a wide range of topics — from HIV-related stigma to sexual harassment and discrimination in the health workforce.
Since 2010, the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and IntraHealth have collaborated to offer the fellowship program, through which graduate and doctoral students get hands-on experience in the field of global health at an international nongovernmental organization.
Thirty-four fellows have completed the program. Each worked directly with IntraHealth’s programs around the world. Some past projects have focused upon digital health, HIV, gender, family planning, health communications, respectful maternity care, health workforce data and others.
All graduate students enrolled at the Gillings School are eligible to apply to the program. Applications become available each year in the fall.
The 2017 UNC-IntraHealth Summer Fellows are listed below.
Saja Al-Falahi, a physician and Fulbright Scholar from Iraq, worked at IntraHealth on the Afghanistan Health Resiliency project, interviewing women taking part in a women’s leadership program led by Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Health. Al-Falahi earned degrees in surgery and medicine from Al-Mustansiriya University College of Medicine in Iraq, and is now a master’s student in maternal and child health at the Gillings School.
Read a blog entry by Al-Falahi on IntraHealth’s blog, VITAL:
To Empower Women Is to Empower Nations: Stories from Iraq and Afghanistan
During her fellowship at IntraHealth, Alex Dest worked on a health workforce sexual harassment and discrimination study in Uganda. Dest earned a bachelor’s degree in Latin American studies and in women’s and gender studies from UNC, and is now a master’s student in health behavior at the Gillings School.
Read more from Dest on VITAL:
It’s Time to End Sexual Harassment
Yutaka Endo, a physician from Japan, worked at IntraHealth to delve into the complex and multifaceted structures of HIV-related stigma and discrimination. He conducted a systematic review of HIV-stigma reduction interventions specifically for health workers. Endo earned a medical degree from the School of Medicine at Niigata University, Japan. He is now a health policy and management master’s student at the Gillings School.
Read more from Endo on VITAL:
To End HIV Stigma, We Must Fight a Long History
Kathryn Jackson is pursuing master’s degrees in business and health policy and management at UNC. At IntraHealth, she worked to document IntraHealth’s decade of investment in human resources for health in Kenya. Jackson earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from UNC.
Read more from Jackson on VITAL:
For Better Health Outcomes for Moms and Babies, Quality Tops Resources