Please note this program is an unpaid global health education program. There is a program fee required to participate. This program fee pays for on-site services such a lodging, language classes (if relevent), 24/7 emergency support, coordination of rotations and/or placements, and on-site staff. CFHI is a nonprofit organization committed to fair-trade partnerships around the world. Please use the following code “HandshakeCFHI” in order to have the application fee waived when applying for a program on the CFHI website.
Optional Sub-Focus: Food Security and Nutrition
Uganda, located in the Nile basin of Eastern Africa, has the 20th highest maternal mortality rate and the 15th highest infant mortality rate in the world according to the World Health Organization. The majority of people live on less than $2 per day. It’s estimated that only 30% of women give birth in settings with a trained health professional. Given high incidences of malnutrition, anemia, HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases, many pregnant women are at risk of complicated births that lead to illness or death. Children under five are also at risk of contracting preventable diseases and suffering from acute malnutrition.
Become a part of the community in Kabale, a town located in southwestern Uganda, and learn about their groundbreaking, integrated approach to addressing and improving maternal and child health. Due to insufficient government infrastructure and funding, nonprofit organizations have taken the lead in providing access to healthcare services, especially in remote regions.
In collaboration with CFHI’s local partner you will rotate through the main general clinic, as well as the newly built Maternal and Child Hospital where you will take part in rounds with physicians, nurses, medical officers, lab and ultrasound technicians. At the HIV/AIDS clinic, sit in on counseling sessions, assist health workers with testing and learn how to reduce rates of mother to child transmission. Conduct outreach in a rural village and explore how nutrition and HIV are closely linked. Other opportunities include rotating at a nutrition center that treats and prevents maternal and child malnutrition, visiting traditional birth attendants and healers, and joining a local radio program that provides public health education to the community.