Reprinted from the Scientist Officer Newsletter, October 2009.
I am extraordinarily humbled to have been asked to contribute to the Scientist Category inaugural newsletter. As I think about our category and the Corps, I am overwhelmed with emotion. The country is facing enormous challenges and there is a greater need for leaders that are willing to heed Sir Winston Churchill’s challenge, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” The country will undoubtedly reexamine who we are as a nation, and the need to answer the call to service in bold new ways will continue to challenge each of us.
The Corps is a critical component of the nation’s public health workforce. As an organization with a heart to serve, it is particularly important to pay attention to individuals without health care coverage, as well as vulnerable, and marginalized populations that suffer disproportionately in our country. We face numerous public health challenges that need to be addressed by the Corps and other public health professionals. It is important to provide data that validates the need for a holistic and comprehensive approach as parity is established for both physical and mental health. We have much to do now and in years to come.
Many have asked about my IETA experience in Angola. As you know, health diplomacy is a means to foster interconnectedness among the global community. I truly feel that I engaged in health diplomacy during my project in Angola. When selected, for IETA I was determined to leave Angola having made a difference on a professional and personal level.
Angola Experience
My project was to help establish a program for HIV/AIDS early infant diagnosis (EID). HIV-infected children in Africa without treatment have a 35% chance of dying by the first birthday and 53% chance of dying before the age of 2. The standard method of HIV diagnosis, testing for antibodies to the virus, is generally not used in children due to the presence of the mother’s antibodies up to 18 months of age. Without EID, children die unnecessarily. I was honored to have an opportunity to help save lives. Among my major tasks was to develop the Angola EID protocol, to conduct laboratory assessments to ensure equipment availability for EID, determine training needs of laboratory personnel, and strengthen global partnerships and promote EID to the Angolan health leadership. As a member of the esteemed Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Angola staff, I had the opportunity to work closely with the US Embassy staff. Both the CDC and Embassy staff are extraordinary groups serving our nation abroad.
On a personal basis, I volunteered each week at an abandoned home for girls. “Children are my heart.” I taught mathematics and English, arts and crafts, and was “just simply there” for the children. The girls were filled with love and laughter, taught me Portuguese, and provided me a new perspective on life. Even though we spoke very little of each other’s language, I learned that love has its own language. We understood each other perfectly even though we spoke very little of each others language, I learned that love has its own language. We understood each other through our eyes.
I can never pass up an opportunity to thank each of you for your service to our nation. The world is a better place because of you and what you do. Go forth, always seeking an opportunity to serve as a public health expert and a compassionate leader. We must never grow weary trying to make a difference in the lives of others as we hold fast to “A Call to Conscience.”
Special Thanks for article preparation to:
Ms. Wendy Vasquez, NHLBI
Ms. Leslie Bassett, NHLBI
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HHS, Office of Public Health and Science |