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First
Class of Foege Fellows
International
public health workers hone their skills
while bringing real-world experience to the classroom
Martin
Swaka has run hospitals with little or no electricity in Somalia
and Southern Sudan. Rose Zambezi organizes adolescent reproductive
health projects in Zambia. Sadi Moussa has engineered clean water
supplies for much of Niger. And Ayman Elsheikh helps track infectious
and parasitic diseases in Sudan.
 These
four public health workers–the first class of William H.
Foege Fellows in Global Health–will spend two years at
Emory earning master’s degrees in international health
at the Rollins School of Public Health.
“My
experience so far is an excellent one,” says Elsheikh.
“During my studies here at Emory, I will take every chance
possible to increase my knowledge and experience in the public
health field so as to be able to help promote the health and
well-being of the most unfortunate people in remote areas in
Sudan, those suffering from disease, malnutrition, and lack
of shelter.”
The
annual Foege fellowships are funded by a five million dollar
endowment from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Fellows
are midlevel professionals from developing countries selected
for their leadership abilities and commitment to public health–
traits exemplified by Foege himself.
“Bill
Foege has devoted his life to ensuring that others can enjoy
full and healthy lives. His achievements remind us that investing
in health is a critical first step to improving the social and
economic well-being of millions of people around the world,”
said Bill Gates Sr., co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation. “I can think of no better way to honor him
than to encourage and train others to continue the work he pioneered.”
Swaka,
a doctor, coordinates emergency response teams for CARE Somalia/South
Sudan, which helps residents displaced by war. Although challenged
by a lack of resources, he says, the teams are making progress
against endemic diseases like malaria, river blindness, and
Guinea worm.
Moussa’s
focus is environmental health, especially combatting diseases
through improving the quality of drinking water. “Niger’s
health policy is aimed at treatment, not prevention,” he
says. “Hopefully, I can be in a position to help change
that.”
Zambezi
has managed health projects for CARE and the Planned Parenthood
Association of Zambia, and now coordinates reproductive health
and HIV prevention programs for YouthNet, run by Family Health
International in Washington, D.C.
Elsheikh
works for The Carter Center as a program analyst and data manager
at the Global 2000/Khartoum office, and hopes to help rebuild
Sudan’s civil-war-ravaged public health system.
“Students
say the Foege fellows really add a lot to discussions,”
says Shannon Shelton, associate director for international affairs
at Rollins. “They bring the concerns of developing countries
into the classroom–concerns that many of the students have
only read about.”
During
their time at Emory, the fellows also are expected to develop
lasting partnerships with mentors at the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), The Carter Center, and Care USA.
Over the course of his career, Foege has served as director
of the CDC, executive director of The Carter Center, a member
of the CARE board, and senior medical adviser to the Gates Foundation’s
Global Health Program.
Foege,
who was appointed Presidential Distinguished Professor at Emory
in 1997, received the 2001 Mary Woodard Lasker Award for Public
Service–often called “America’s Nobel Prize”–for
his role in eradicating smallpox and preventing river blindness.
In August 2003, Foege received the Charles R. Hatcher Jr. M.D.
Award for Excellence in Public Health, Rollins’ top faculty
award.
“Bill
Foege is one of those rare individuals who combines brilliant
science with a moral vision that inspires everyone around him
to work harder and accomplish more,” said Dean James W.
Curran. “It’s hard to think of an area in public health
that he has not touched and improved in some way.”–M.J.L.
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