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AT WILLAMETTE, THESE FOUR ALUMNI DISCOVERED THEIR MISSION TO HELP OTHERS. NOW, THEY’RE TRYING TO IMPROVE HEALTHCARE FOR SOME OF THE WORLD’S POOREST PEOPLE.
BETH PHILLIPS ’05
SUN COTTER ’03
Her story: Phillips has worked on HIV prevention in Namibia and Uganda through the Peace Corps, fought to eradicate guinea worm disease through the Carter Center and studied maternal health issues in Nigeria with a Fulbright grant.
Her story: Cotter works as a program manager for the Francis I. Proctor Foundation at the University of California San Francisco, which researches infectious and inflammatory eye diseases and strives to prevent blindness worldwide.
What she learned: In Nigeria, Phillips studied obstetric fistula, a preventable and treatable condition that leaves women incontinent and socially ostracized. Phillips interviewed clinicians and patients to help understand why this problem persists. Health professionals believed patients are uneducated, afraid of hospitals and swayed by traditional gender roles. Patients cited unaffordable treatment, limited transport and lack of trained medical staff.
What she learned: A previous study on trachoma, the leading cause of preventable blindness worldwide, found that the antibiotic used to treat the infection unexpectedly increased young patients’ life expectancy. Cotter managed a Gates Foundation-funded multi-site study in Niger, Tanzania and Malawi that analyzes the effects of the antibiotic on childhood mortality and morbidities.
Lasting impression: “Instead of just building more hospitals, we need also to increase quality staff and good equipment at existing hospitals and give local doctors stipends to work and stay in rural areas,” says Phillips. “We need a more holistic global health system, which is easier said than done.”
JOSEPH CAMPBELL ’13 His story: Inspired by a medical anthropology course at Willamette, Campbell joined the Peace Corps after graduating. Now living in a large village in South Africa, he helps run HIV/ AIDS awareness and education programs. What he learned: Campbell has adapted to life with occasional power outages and a limited supply of fresh water, and without indoor plumbing. But he struggles with the common perception that HIV and AIDS are “normal.” One person he met confided that her husband, who cheats on her with multiple women, refuses to change his ways or wear a condom. As divorce is not a culturally acceptable option, the woman hopes to become pregnant with a daughter who can take care of her when — not if — she contracts HIV. Lasting impression: “You can’t come into Peace Corps thinking you’ll make everything OK, or you’ll set yourself up for failure,” says Campbell. “I don’t try to impose my ways, but to give people knowledge to empower and protect themselves from HIV.”
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Lasting impression: “We’re potentially saving children’s lives with this study,” says Cotter. “With global health, you’re working with communities. Your work makes a bigger impact.”
HANNAH HARPER ’11 Her story: A former Truman Scholar, Harper is devoted to advancing healthcare reform in African countries. She recently earned her master of science in nursing from Seattle University and aims to return to Africa to help prevent and treat chronic diseases. What she learned: Across the continent, heart disease, strokes, cancer and diabetes are increasing dramatically. Harper and other experts blame lifestyle changes associated with urbanization and Westernization. When people move from agricultural areas to big cities, they become more sedentary and adopt a diet of highprocessed and potentially unhealthy foods. Lasting impression: “We need to educate people about how to prevent chronic diseases, and we need a lot more capacity to diagnose patients and get them the appropriate medications,” says Harper. “By 2030, chronic diseases are expected to kill more people in Africa than AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and all other infectious diseases combined.”
Illustration by Stuart Patience