My Leadership-In-Action project is taking place in Oxford, UK and I am with the University of Oxford Health Systems Collaborative (HSC) and their partner, the AFRHiCARE Project. Both groups collaborate with low and middle-income country institutions to improve healthcare delivery, specifically hospital operations, resource access, and worker and patient experience improvement.
Last Summer, my work focused on the UK’s National Health Service and how they were able to maintain a steady vaccination rate despite vaccines being voluntary within the UK. My work this summer connects to last summer because it still focuses on health systems and how they operates, however this summer looks a bit different as I am focusing on several countries in Africa, there is more advocacy and looking into the logistics of decision-making rather than having questions about two conflicting ideas,
I decided to pursue this project because I was curious about what health systems look like in practice. I had first heard of the term “health systems” when taking a public health course, and thought to look into groups who work on this and better the world through the improvement of health and the systems they operate under. I also feel that it strongly resonates with the work I want to do in the future, and working with professionals within the profession I would like to be in is inspiring and offers insight that I would not have otherwise.
The picture I included is a picture of my dorm building. Fun fact about this housing is that I only obtained housing in Oxford two days before my flight (a special thank you to Dean Lang…) Housing at Oxford was extremely difficult to obtain because the students are still in the midst of their semester, leaving little to no room for someone visiting for six weeks like me. Having a dorm is definitely comforting as it is something I am familiar with and have to myself in a place in which I know virtually nothing about. Despite being between a rock and a hard place prior to arriving, I’m glad I made it and I am at Oxford!