How to develop your career in global health and make an impact on youth
By Peter Morgan [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons
In a country where 41% of the population are below the age of 15, having access to healthcare services is essential to protecting Zimbabwe’s future generations. I am currently working in Zimbabwe with great colleagues that are working very hard. However Zimbabwe, like the rest of Africa, needs more healthcare providers that take leadership in implementing public health programs for youth.
I wish there were more global health professionals specialized in health programs for youth. SDG3 requires us to achieve universal coverage by 2030. Here are the steps to encourage you to develop your career and make a global health impact on the world’s youth. You can start no matter what stage you are in your career:
- If you are a new GH professional, familiarize yourself with the epidemiology and demography of the country you are working with. What are the most prevalent conditions among 0-4, 5-10- 11 to 19 and 20 to 24? What services are available? Which are not? What is the coverage of these programs? Who is not being reached? Find out which government programs exist and what NGOs are implementing programs for youth.
- If you are in the innovator stage, that means you have been practicing GH for a while and have developed some innovative solutions, developed a new approach or better practice and have helped address a global health problem or challenge. Use that experience to find a way and adapt those solutions to reach out to more youth with better, and additional services.
- If you are in the expert stage, that means you have developed an area of expertise and have the ability to impact large population groups. You know how to get public health programs to work in your area of expertise. Think how your expertise in Malaria, TB, maternal health, family planning, AIDS, etc. can be used to reach youth and create more youth-friendly programs.
- If you are in the visionary stage, then you are able to envision large scale programs and developments that can make an impact of global proportions. This is the time to think big. How can you break with business as usual and introduce a game-changing program that can reach millions of young people?
Now that you have a better understanding of what stage you are in, what will you do?
- What has become clear to you about the youth in your country?
- What career move should you take to make an impact on the youth in your country or the world over the next 10 years?
Looking forward to hear from you!
To learn more about GH career stages and RGH’s career development programs, click here.
