|
Anne Stoddard
Director, New England Research Institutes,
Pelham, MA
Field: Public/Global Health
Host: University of Malawi
Grant Dates: March 18, 04 - April 6,
04
 |
| View of a village at the base of Mt
Mulanje. |
In March, 2003, I had the opportunity to develop
and teach the introductory biostatistics module
in the Master of Public Health (MPH) degree
program at the Medical College of Malawi in
Blantyre. When I left Malawi last year I never
thought I'd be back, but the Fulbright
Specialists Program made it possible for me
to return to teach the course a second time.
The current class of 25 health professionals
will be among the first Malawi trained Public
Health professionals in the country.
 |
| Mavuto tutoring during Biostat. Lab. |
Like MPH students at home, the students in
the program come from a variety of backgrounds
and have diverse abilities in quantitative methods.
The program is being designed to take into consideration
the specific Public Health training and implementation
needs of the country, so customizing the biostatistics
course to the students' needs and abilities
is important. By incorporating last year's experience
I was able to do just that and to include some
more relevant examples. In addition, a Malawian
counterpart assisted me with teaching, and he
will take over responsibility for the course
next year.
 |
| Bvumwe Market |
Malawi is a beautiful country. I was there
at the end of the rainy season so everything
was lush and green. I stayed at the home of
the director of the MPH program and his wife,
high on a tea estate outside Blantyre. We ate
passion fruit, pineapple, eggplant, "pumpkin"
(like our Hubbard squash), potatoes and more
from their garden, supplemented by other produce
from the local market. Outside my bedroom window
was a rose bed that had been taken over by dahlias.
In contrast to the incomparable beauty is overwhelming
poverty. The median annual income is equivalent
to about US$700. I was struck again by how little
people have. Most people don't have enough to
eat and children's growth is stunted from the
age of 6 months when breast milk is no longer
sufficient to meet their nutritional needs.
People walk miles to school or market and carry
huge loads on their heads; if they can afford
a bicycle, they carry even larger loads. The
effects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, rampant tuberculosis
and hyper-endemic malaria are exacerbated by
the poverty and limited health care resources.
The life expectancy at birth is 37 years, a
decrease of about seven years since 1980. Approximately
16% of the adult population is infected with
HIV. The MPH program is one way in which Malawi
can address its public health needs, increase
its health care infrastructure and reduce "brain
drain." It is exciting to see this program
unfolding and rewarding to be part of the process.
|
Share
