Footage from the Field - Tanzania

A short video documenting some of the experiences captured on camera from the MSc Global Health trip. Hopefully this will be useful for future incoming students to gain an insight to Tanzania and the field work component. 

MSc Global Health Tanzania Field Trip from Our Global Health on Vimeo.

Tanzania Field Trip

The following notes are from the University of Copenhagen MSc Global Health field trip to Tanzania. We are currently a group of 19 students visiting the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College (KCMC) and surrounding health facilities over a 5 week period. Throughout this duration I will continue to upload my field notes from this exciting trip.

All comments here do not reflect the University of Copenhagen, KCMC or any of the mentioned individuals. All comments are my own personal views relating to my academic and cultural experience in Tanzania.

Tuesday 6th May, 2014 - Departure.
So after spending the best part of 9 months in Copenhagen learning about this relatively new concept of Global Health, where a significant proportion of the material is focused on Low and Middle Income Countries (LMIC), I get my first opportunity to theory into practice. It’s been nearly 3 years since I have travelled outside of Europe, and I wasn’t too sure how I felt leading up to the trip. I knew in my heart that if my first Africa experience was anywhere as good as my first Asia experience in China, then it would be an enjoyable experience. However on the other hand I didn’t have the wealth of knowledge regarding SSA countries, compared to my pre departure to China. It’s also important to take into consideration that due to the Field Trip, Internship and Leisure time, I know I won’t be in my newly formed home in Copenhagen for more than 2 weeks over the next 6 months. This is a strange psychological feeling for a Briton who is not used to travelling for that period of time.

Time Lapse Interlude

Unfortunately there is no blog article this week relating to Global Health. I am currently in the process of writing an exam assignment for one of my modules: Prevention and Strategies in Health Promotion. However I recently received a second battery for my camera and decided to check out the longevity of the lifespan.

As a result , what was initially supposed to be a technical test, turned into a bit of observational fun. I subsequently created a one minute time lapse of the last days I have spent working on the assignment and there were a couple of interesting discoveries:

Seven T's in Seven Months

Yesterday was No Smoking Day and I contemplated whether to write a enthusiast article stating five to ten good reasons to quit smoking. However I decided against it. Don’t get me wrong, I am a keen anti smoking advocate, and the amount of new smokers, whom a considerable amount are children or adolescents, who start each year concerns me greatly. The problem is that those type of articles are predictable, and with a few exceptions, they are stale in the health promotion world. 

As a result I thought I would entertain the blogging world with seven reasons why I am excited about the next seven months. Some may say this is equally as stale as the previously topic which was dwelled, but here’s hoping it provides a little insight into the world of an MSc Global Health student. 

'Inequality For All' Review

For the last two weeks in the Copenhagen School of Global Health MSc Global Health course, we have been exploring the topic of social inequality as part of our Strategies for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention module led by Ingelise Andersen. Therefore when a fellow peer, recommended for me to watch the 2013 documentary ‘’Inequality for all’’, it seemed quite well timed. Also it was an American recommending a documentary about America. Like many others, I have always been fascinated with the complex multi faceted nature of one of the most powerful nations in the world, so this recommendation was seen as an pre approval of the legitimacy of the film. 

Spotlight Series: ‘Big Pharma' - Eyes Wide Open

Recently I was reintroduced to the concept of medicalisation. To be honest,  after my first exposure to the topic in 2011, it never really left me. I was lucky to have a combination of an inspiring lecturer in Peter Kennedy, and being able to make a strong connection outwith the biomedical perspective of health and illness for the first time during my bachelor studies. Now nearly 3 years later I was in Copenhagen and I had the pleasure of having a lecture with the fervent Peter Gøtzsche. I have got to admit, I found it hard at first, to digest the passion which Gøtzsche clearly portrayed during his two hour talk, but it left quite a formidable impression. I am once again drawn elusively towards this controversial and sobering topic. 

mHealth’s Mounting Case to Combat Chronic Diseases

Like many people in the world, I can’t live without mobile technology in my life. Every minute of each day, I am one button away from calling, messaging, emailing, blogging, Facebook-ing and tweeting to a global audience. However with statistics such as 67.6% of adults worldwide have access to a mobile phone, and of the 5 billion wireless subscribers world wide, 70% are from low to middle income countries, mobile health (mHealth) might just be a key element in tackling and managing chronic diseases worldwide.