Evan Blank (center) with Dr. Waiswa (right), who is the vice-chairperson of UDHA, the deputy director of health services of the Iganga District, and a close friend.

Engaging in Public Health as an Undergraduate
by Evan Blank

Evan Blank is majoring in biology and anthropology. A student in Medicine & Society, he is co-founder and co-director of Washington University’s chapter of GlobeMed.

Interest in global and public health is at an all-time high. From the works of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to the RED campaign to the recent re-authorization of the PEPFAR bill, the issue of global health is becoming more prominent than ever. This enthusiasm for global health is extremely evident in the University setting. The newly formed minor in public health at Washington U., which arose in large part from student demand, is evidence of this enthusiasm. However, the question remains: How do we get undergraduate students who are academically interested in public health to engage in the field in a practical, pragmatic way?

To help address this question, Anupam Kumar, a fellow junior in Anthropology, and I teamed together to found a chapter of GlobeMed at Washington University. GlobeMed is a burgeoning National 501c3 student organization whose goal is to unite students with an interest in public and global health on campuses across the country. In addition to bringing speakers to campus and advocating for a stronger presence of global health curriculum, the main focus of GlobeMed is providing education and training to its members through direct partnership with grassroots health organizations in the developing world. Through this partnership, GlobeMed’s members gain invaluable experience and practical skills while, at the same time, empowering grassroots organizations and making a measurable improvement in the health of the communities in which they work.

In keeping with this mission, this summer I traveled to the Iganga District in eastern Uganda with the Uganda Village Project (UVP). A small independent nongovernmental organization founded by medical students and run completely by volunteers, UVP focuses on several underserved areas of public health in the Iganga District. For two months I lived in the remote rural village of Busembe. I was part of a team of three other volunteers working on several clean water projects. During our stay, my team completed an ethnographic clean water and sanitation study; partnered with community leaders to build four shallow wells; and created an educational program to promote WaterGuard, a water chlorination product socially marketed in Uganda.

In addition to my work with UVP, I met with several grassroots community-based organizations and NGOs in Iganga to explore partnership possibilities for our GlobeMed chapter. I was fortunate to find an incredibly enthusiastic and credible partner in Uganda Development and Health Associates (UDHA), an NGO formed by Ugandan physicians and nurses to give back to their communities while encouraging their colleagues to do the same. We are in the advanced planning stages of partnering to create a youth clinic in the area that will be the first of its kind in Uganda. GlobeMed’s students will work to fundraise, write grants, and network UDHA with other partners from across GlobeMed’s network. In addition, we plan to send a small contingent of volunteers next summer to work with UDHA in various roles.

GlobeMed is interested in networking with any interested alumni with experience and any alumni interested in helping us accomplish our goals of training a new generation of pubic health leaders while making a positive impact in the field of global health. Please direct any correspondence to WashUGlobemed@gmail.com or Eblank@wustl.edu, or visit www.globemed.org for more information.