What did you study at LSHTM?

Stefanie (S): I graduated in 2019 with a MSc in Public Health - Health Services Research Stream.

Cephas (Ce): I graduated in 2020 with a MSc in Reproductive & Sexual Health Research.

Chileshe (Ch): I graduated in 2020 with a Professional Diploma in Tropical Medicine & Hygiene (DTM&H) and a MSc in Tropical Medicine and International Health.

Why did you choose to study at LSHTM?

S: LSHTM offers unparalleled learning opportunities from faculty and classmates alike. Everyone comes from such diverse backgrounds – academically, professionally, geographically – and my worldview widened immensely. Not only did I gain an invaluable skillset and knowledge base to help launch my career in public health, but I also developed a strong and lasting network of friends, colleagues, and mentors. We are all united in LSHTM's mission to improve health worldwide.

Ce: I chose LSHTM because it offered my desired programme of study, and because a lot of the big names in public/global health had studied in LSHTM at one point in their lives, including the current Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO). I admired the fact that a lot of the research interest of the school was in sub-Saharan Africa, with research centres established in some African countries. In retrospect, I believe I made the right choice. From the depth of knowledge in research methods that I have acquired, to the global network of public health experts that I have interacted with, I got what I wanted from my LSHTM experience and more.

Ch: I wanted a world-class public health education and I got one. I applied to LSHTM for the opportunity to learn directly from the people (both students and faculty) generating the science, programmes and policy the world relies on for addressing challenges in health. Clinically, I am interested in obstetric health and infectious disease, and more broadly I am very much engaged by the “process” of public health problem-solving. LSHTM felt like a great place to gain a strong understanding of all those things.

Can you tell us a bit about your current work/research? Has your time at LSHTM helped you get to where you are today?

S: I am a 2nd year medical student at Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore. My 3rd year will be dedicated to research. I will be working at the Duke Global Health Institute exploring the impact of nutritional status on health outcomes of paediatric oncology patients in Uganda and Tanzania. My time at LSHTM allowed me to pursue my interest in global maternal and child health. I completed my thesis on newborn health at the MARCH Centre and continued to work as a research assistant after finishing my Master’s.

Ce: I currently work for Jacaranda Health, an international organisation based in Kenya, as the ‘Promoting mothers in pregnancy/postpartum through SMS’ (PROMPTS) Manager for Ghana. Jacaranda Health partners with governments to deploy affordable and scalable solutions to improve quality of care in public hospitals to ensure that all mothers experience childbirth safely and with respect. I provide strategic leadership to help the organisation adapt the PROMPTS intervention for deployment and scale in Ghana in collaboration with the Ghana Health Service. While studying at LSHTM, I developed a strong interest in research on maternal health service delivery, especially on referral pathways for childbirth care, which was the focus of my dissertation. After my studies, I collaborated with some experts in this area of research, including MARCH members, to publish a series of papers on the topic of obstetric referral and transport to care.

Ch: I am currently undertaking a PhD in pre-eclampsia diagnostics and policy at King’s College London, with fieldwork in Zambia. I also work as a research manager at University Teaching Hospital (UTH) Women and Newborn in Lusaka, Zambia, building institutional research capacity. My time at LSHTM deeply informed the way I think, and approach to challenges, especially as a result of meeting people doing amazing work and feeling inspired and empowered to do more too.

What made you apply to the MARCH retreat alumni scholarship?

S: My time at the MARCH Centre was incredibly transformative, so I was eager to reconnect with old colleagues and meet new students and staff. I wanted to hear about and discuss the current landscape of women’s, adolescents’ and children’s health with leading researchers in the field. I knew the retreat would be a valuable opportunity to gain inspiration on how I could contribute to future research and programming once I finish my medical training.

Ce: I saw the MARCH retreat as an opportunity to re-connect with the MARCH Centre, where I once served as Student Liaison Officer (SLO) of the Adolescent theme. I was keen to hear about the current research projects and interests of the Centre and explore potential areas of collaboration. I was particularly grateful that MARCH offered scholarships for alumni to attend, because I think that this is an important way of keeping alumni engaged with the work of the Centre and LSHTM at large.

Ch: As I forge my path through maternal health research and policy, it felt important to be “in the room” with other people doing the same at different professional stages and in different spheres. I applied unreasonably close to the deadline and could barely believe it when I got selected. Reader, apply for things. Apply, apply. The first minute or the last: throw your hat in the ring.

The MARCH Retreat theme was ‘Halfway to the Sustainable Development Goals: Transforming research and research leadership to meet the SDGs for women, children & adolescents’, what does this mean to you?

S: There is still much to be done for women, children and adolescents if we are to achieve the SDG 2030 agenda. While the current pace of progress is not on track to meet the SDGs, this provides more impetus to address the urgency of the matter through high impact research and equitable partnerships. We need to engage with and empower stakeholders at all levels. As an aspiring global health practitioner, I hope to do my part in bringing back women’s, adolescents’ and children’s health to the forefront.

Ce: The MARCH Retreat theme is a call for increased advocacy and action by all stakeholders working to achieve the SDGs for women, children and adolescents, and ultimately improve their health outcomes. Transforming research to meet the SDGs will require broader collaboration with other sectors beyond health, embracing digital innovations, leveraging new technology to increase access to care and ensuring that research output is geared towards redesigning health systems to be more responsive to the needs of women, children, and adolescents. I believe the MARCH Centre can play a huge role in creating the next generation of research leadership through training and mentoring of students and alumni of the school. We need such strong research leadership focused on a contextual understanding of health system challenges, and we need leaders who focus on the creation of data-driven solutions to help countries regain progress and stay on track to meet their SDG targets.

Ch: Some really phenomenal gains have been made for women, children and adolescent health, which has greatly inspired my work and journey. Unfortunately, it sometimes feels like the carousel (of funding and attention) is swinging around to other global priorities with the battle only half-won. This demands that the field of reproductive, maternal newborn adolescent and child health reimagine and re-present itself for the next quarter of the 21st Century. I believe this is happening, both within the MARCH Centre and more broadly, and that many important voices are being newly highlighted and centred in the process.  

What do you want to see from MARCH in the future?

S: The retreat was a fantastic experience for me as a proud alumna and former MARCH research assistant. I hope that such events may be open to more students and alumni in the future, as well as internal and external communities. Engagement is especially vital for distance learning students and alumni to stay connected and up to date with the research landscape.

Ce: I would like to see increased collaboration with existing research institutions in sub-Saharan African countries and the active involvement of alumni of LSHTM, especially people who have engaged, or have an interest in engaging with the MARCH Centre in such research collaborations. I particularly want to see the MARCH Centre venture more into research in digital innovations, political advocacy and the conversion of research output into policy. I believe that a lot of students and alumni will benefit from the mentorship of researchers affiliated with the MARCH Centre - because sometimes all you need is to see an example of what you strive to do, and who you hope to become - to make the hard work of doing research worthwhile.

Ch: One of my favourite parts of the retreat was the consensus-building session in which attendees broke up into small groups to discuss the MARCH’s priorities going forward. I sincerely hope to see the idea brought to fruition, of March Centre ‘engagement hubs’ dotted all over the globe, as well as a general increase in equitable engagement across all areas of health, between those addressing the challenges and those affected by them.

Do you have any advice for current or prospective students?

S: If you are a prospective student, apply to LSHTM and you won’t regret it! Reach out to students and alumni to see how you utilise LSHTM’s resources and vast network. For current students, be proactive and connect with the MARCH Centre faculty as soon as you can to get involved with the latest events and research.

Ce: LSHTM is about people, a community of people beyond the walls of the buildings (or the screens of our laptops), who do impactful work and have inspiring careers worth emulating. I would recommend LSHTM for anyone willing to improve the health of their communities, and the MARCH Centre for anyone hoping to improve the health outcomes of women, children and adolescents.

Ch: I learned a lot of extremely valuable technical information and frameworks that have shaped my thinking and approach to problem-solving. For me, however, interactions with people have always felt like the most valuable outcome of most of my experiences. So my advice is to get involved with activities, speak with and get to know people. I am a bit introverted but I wish I had gotten even more involved with people and activities, because everything I did participate in was wonderful. Ask questions after class, send that email, start a conversation at lunch (and, again, apply for “the thing”, whatever that is for you!); it has very often been the start of amazing things for me.

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