Health Care Access

Four Hands: Mother, Baby, Father, Doctor.

Shifting perspectives: A personal story of maternal health and outcomes

Jessie Nelson

“I stepped into the all-familiar Michigan Medicine hospital. This time, however, my perspective was more than a little bit different. I had wandered these halls just weeks prior—not as a patient, but as a medical student. Now, I entered as an expectant mother.”

College Street, North Kolkata, India. Photo by Pratiti Ghosh.

Where Science Meets Humanity: A Story of Suffering and Love in India

Mousumi Banerjee

India’s coronavirus problem is everyone’s problem. When a virus ravages one country this badly, it will affect others—and well beyond the spread of a disease. We must and will act on the responsibilities we have as a global community because disease is disease, love is love, and both are highly infectious.

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.

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.