MPH

Dr. Julio Frenk, MPH, PhD, President of the University of Miami, Florida

Leadership to Inspire Global Change

Julio Frenk, MPH ’81, PhD ’83

Julio Frenk’s career has oscillated between health care and higher education. He currently serves as President of the University of Miami and for six years served as Mexico’s Secretary of Health. Whether in the academy or in policymaking, the unifying theme to that career, Frenk says, has been trying to give back through service.

Tonya Allen, President of the McKnight Foundation, alum of the University of Michigan School of Public Health

Resilient Leadership in a Dynamic World

Tonya Allen, BA '94, MPH/MSW '96

From rewriting rules to enabling others to succeed, Tonya Allen thinks leadership is not about an individual person doing a great thing but about an environment where everyone wins. In Detroit and now Minneapolis, Allen keeps putting herself out there so that entire communities can thrive.

Public health worker in Africa distributing vaccines

Is Africa Truly Free of Wild Polio?

Utibe Effiong, MPH ’14 and Uju Okeke

Without a case on the continent for several years, the World Health Organization declared Africa free of wild polio in 2020. But questions remain about the ability to reach remote areas for vaccination programs and for disease surveillance as well as questions around the security of infectious agents held in labs for research.

Illustration of a policing situation

Systemic Racism, Policing, and Public Health Advocacy

Q&A with Payton Watt and Jamison Koeman

It can take a long time to develop new policy, and some advocacy roads lead to dead ends. But good advocacy work always makes a difference. As racism, policing, and police reform were becoming the national public health story of the summer, student leaders led a remote advocacy initiative to continue bringing public health insights to the discourse.

A doctor consults with mother and children about HIV/AIDS at Pepo La Tumaini Jangwani, HIV/AIDS Community Rehabilitation Program, Orphanage and Clinic. Nairobi, Kenya, Africa

The Future of Universal Health Coverage in Africa

Utibe Effiong, MPH ’14, Fejiro Nwoko, and Uju Okeke

While COVID stretches already stretched health care systems across Africa, the future of Africa’s health care insurance systems is full of opportunity, promising improved coverage and creative care delivery across all sectors of society.

Graphic showing Benefit–Risk Analysis of Health Benefits versus Excess Risk of SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Outbreaks Inevitable as Childhood Vaccination Rates Decrease

Sarah Javaid and Giovanna Buttazzoni

COVID-19 poses unique challenges to vaccination programs, with children around the world going unvaccinated for a variety of reasons. To prevent childhood deaths and disease spread due to decreased vaccination coverage, immunization programs must continue during the pandemic.