Pre-Boarding: Where I'm Going and Why

Hi everyone! Thanks for checking-out my blog! I hope to update this frequently and share stories from my travels and work in Africa.

As many of you know, on Tuesday I'm leaving to go to Africa for seven weeks - I'll be in Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania. Since making this announcement, I've gotten a lot of questions, so before I board the plane on Tuesday, I wanted to introduce how and why I'm going on this trip.

How did I get this job?
While in Rwanda, I will be completing a project for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF). Last summer I worked for this organization at its headquarters in Washington, D.C. I had met EGPAF while I was in Zambia the previous March for one of my courses at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. In a conference room in Zambia, I had listened to an EGPAF nurse practitioner explain some of their programs and initiatives to try and combat the HIV/AIDS problem in that country and was inspired by her passion and zeal. Excited for the potential of working with such an enthusiastic group of people with such exciting ideas, from my hotel room that night I immediately sent my resume and cover letter to EGPAF expressing an interest in its summer internship program in D.C. I was fortunate to be offered that position and spent two months last summer learning more about EGPAF, Africa and HIV/AIDS. Since I'd had such a wonderful experience at EGPAF last year, earlier this year I contacted them again and expressed my desire to work abroad this summer. I was thrilled and delighted to be invited back this summer to work in Rwanda.

What is the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation?  
As many of you know, Elizabeth Glaser was married to Paul Glaser, the actor from Starsky and Hutch, and contracted HIV through a blood transfusion in the 1980's, before adequate testing methods were used. Unaware that she'd contracted HIV, Elizabeth gave birth to two children who consequently contracted the virus as well. The Glasers discovered, in the course of trying to treat their older child, Ariel, that drug companies and health agencies had no idea that HIV was prevalent among children. The only drugs on the market were for adults; nothing had been tested or approved for children. Elizabeth Glaser was instrumental in lobbying the National Institute of Health and other organizations to research pediatric HIV/AIDS, and the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) was formed with the mission to "bring hope to children with HIV and AIDS." Fortunately, science and health care has come a long way in the U.S. Therefore, EGPAF has shifted its focus to Sub-Saharan Africa, where I'll be spending my time this summer.

As a brief background on pediatric AIDS, an HIV positive mother can transmit the virus to her child by two ways: in utero and through breast milk. In the United States and Europe, transmission of HIV from a mother to her child has been reduced from 25% in the 1990's to 7% now, and can be as low as 2% with a C-section. However, 90% of all new cases of HIV occur in the developing world, such as Rwanda - where I will be working - which has limited resources for testing and treating people. Without any intervention, 15%-45% of infants born to mothers living with HIV will become infected, and approximately 50% of infants infected with HIV from their mothers die before their second birthday. However, on a very positive note, the transmission of HIV infection from mother to child can be sharply reduced if drugs are administered to a woman and her child during pregnancy and delivery; and this is one of the primary goals of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. For more information on EGPAF, check out: www.pedaids.org.


How did I become interested in helping solve the HIV/AIDS problem in Africa?
As many of you know, left the banking industry to attend the Kellogg School of Management and pursue a career in social impact and/or non-profit. I wanted to use the skills I'd learned through corporate America to help people and improve their lives. Of course, that's a very broad goal and I knew I'd need to explore several different causes before determining where I could be the most helpful. So, at Kellogg I took a variety of courses that explored such topics as poverty, education, health care, etc.

One of the most exciting of all of those courses was the one that took me to Zambia, as mentioned above. As shown in the logo to the left, that course was entitled GIM Zambia, which stands for "Global Initiatives in Management in Zambia". When I first visited Kellogg for the admitted students weekend back in 2009, the Net Impact club had touted the success of its Global Health Initiative course, which primarily conducted market research for two new HIV tests that Northwestern engineers had created. I thought to myself then, "wow, I really need to be in that class." So, of course I was thrilled to get a spot in that 25-person class the next fall. I admit that until that point, I knew very little about HIV and even less about most of the countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, as I learned more-and-more in each class, I realized that the HIV/AIDS problem in Africa was serious, complicated and one that I could be passionate about addressing.

I was startled to learn that the average life expectancy in many Sub-Saharan African countries is only around 50 (versus 80 in the U.S.) due in part to the prevalence of deadly viruses and diseases like HIV. For example, in the country of Botswana, life expectancy at birth fell from 65 years in 1990-1995 to less than 40 years in 2000-2005, a figure about 28 years lower than it would have been without AIDS. Low life expectancy means that many children are orphaned at young ages and there are far less working adults than are needed to grow the economy. Further, I felt challenged by the cultural differences and even more so by the resources and income limitations of many African countries (Rwanda's average income per person per year is $510 versus $45,989 in the U.S.). It became clear to me that this problem would require creativity and a lot of dedicated people to solve; so of course I wanted to learn more and try to figure out how I could help.

Where am I going and with whom?
Several of my good friends from Kellogg and UVA will be visiting me this summer. In total, I'll only be by myself for a few weeks! A friend from UVA is meeting me in Tanzania for a week. Then two friends from Kellogg and I will travel to Uganda for a long weekend to see the Gorillas. Finally, another friend from Kellogg is going to stay with me for a week to tour around Rwanda. I've put a map of East Africa below. On the map, I will be staying in Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda, which as you can see is a very small country (about the size of Maryland).

That's about all of the information I can give for now! I will be updating soon with pictures and stories! Have a wonderful week - I miss you all!

Love,
Meredith