By Alexandra McLaughlin ’16

Mariah Carray ’16 (Oakland, Calif.) missed the first week of classes, but she had a good reason—she was in Accra, Ghana, working on the development of poverty alleviation programs for tuberculosis patients

Tuberculosis is a disease of poverty. “It especially affects the poor due to overcrowding, malnutrition, and lack of access to early treatment,” says Carray, an international studies major with concentrations in community and global health and international development. “When people have TB, they often are impoverished or pushed further into poverty.” According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one third of the world’s population is infected with TB. Not all those infected are sick with active TB, yet in 2013, the disease killed 1.5 million people worldwide.

A respiratory disease associated with fatigue, weight loss, and coughing up blood, tuberculosis is curable, but patients must be treated every day for at least six months. Though medication is free, people often cannot consistently afford transportation to obtain it, therefore drug resistance builds, worsening the disease’s effects.

“Globally, tuberculosis is the second biggest killer due to a single infectious agent,” says Carray, “but it’s too often ignored.”

As a research associate for Institute for Global Citizenship Dean Christy Hanson, Carray was supporting the agenda of the World Health Organization (WHO), whose social protection task force Hanson serves on. A This work brought Carray to Ghana, where she facilitated meetings among institutions including the Ministry of Health, the World Bank, and the World Food Program. Rather than imposing an agenda, Carray encouraged the institutions to enter into dialogue and find solutions.

WHO and its partners are developing 10 policy points from increased health screenings to insurance exemptions. “There are places, especially in the north, where the extreme poor do not have access to clinics or cannot afford transportation. Ministries outside the health sector are willing to incorporate health programming into their public works programs,” says Carray. “It was really inspiring to hear that hundreds of thousands of people may have increased access to health care simply because institutions are talking to each other.”

Carray’s interest in public health was cemented in Hanson’s class on HIV/AIDS. Carray says she is grateful for the continued support and mentorship of Hanson, who helped make the Ghana trip a reality.

In Ghana, Carray stayed with Seyram Addom ’11 and family, and Kobina Annan ’72 and Ekua Annan. They welcomed her with warm hospitality, gave her insights into Ghana’s political situation, and took her to markets and festivals, where she became known for her insistence on trying the spicy Ghanaian food.

This experience cemented her interests “not only in health, but in the way systems in distinct disciplines can build on one another,” and has helped Carray understand the realities of development work as she envisions her future career plans.

October 15 2015

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