Rural Health

In observance of International Day of Rural Women, Adekemi Adeniyan ’19 called for greater representation of rural women in leadership, arguing they are experts in their own right and can provide solutions for their communities.

Muhammad Saddiq Ahmad ’21, founder of Rural Health Mission, oversaw the construction of a solar-powered water supply system for the Kabri-Chana Community in Nigeria, ensuring its residents' access to clean water. The project's sustainability relies on the local community's involvement in operating and maintaining the facilities.

As Head of Business Planning and Development at Shalamar Institute of Health Sciences, Bilal Asim '20 successfully launched a structured program to improve the vision of schoolchildren in a village outside of Lahore. In another rural area, he headed a medical camp providing medical attention to more than 150 patients in need.

One of the many ways Adrian Billings ’19 is helping to improve access to healthcare in rural West Texas is through a new telehealth and drone delivery system facilitated by Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. Drones deliver vital medications, equipment, and search and rescue assistance, offering life-saving solutions, such as rapid delivery of anti-venom for snake bites, significantly enhancing emergency response times.

Muhammad Saddiq Ahmad ’21 and Adrian Billings ’19 used their experience in the United States and Nigeria to suggest addressing the global maternal rural health crisis. They call for increasing community and government support, investing in satellite facilities, training rural healthcare providers, and strengthening the women’s health workforce through local midwives, community health workers and doulas.

Rosemary Nakame ’20 founded the Responsive Mental Health Sustainability Initiative (REMI) to address health inequities and give a voice to rural health workers in Uganda, who are often overlooked in policy decisions. Her organization also highlights the stories of these women, many of whom are struggling with poverty. She advocates for better working conditions, career growth opportunities, and mental health support for these health workers.

To bridge the gap between the global discourse on climate change and the voices of those in rural communities, Monalisa Padhee ’19, with Bindi International, launched the Youth Climate Leadership Curriculum. This initiative empowers rural youth by making climate issues locally relevant and encouraging them to speak up and take action while recognizing local wisdom's unique perspectives and contributions.

As part of her fellowship project, Ginger Ramirez ’17 helped set up the Practice-Based Family Medicine Residency Training Program in the province of Northern Samar to address the lack of rural health physicians. In 2022, Deborrah Liao ’18 was one of the Municipal Health Officers who trained for the Family Medicine Residency program that Ginger helped set up, and she is now one of the trainers for the program.