GHLI Fellows write about their work overseas

Sarah Ali and Ffyona Patel, both fellows at Yale’s Global Health Leadership Institute (GHLI), are passionate about solving global problems at the local level.

Ali blogs from Uganda, where she is working on projects studying non-communicable diseases (NCDs). “I have now been in Uganda for about a month and each encounter with a new person is always met with surprise when I explain what I am doing here. ‘Are [NCDs] even a problem in Uganda?’ The answer is a resounding yes!”

Patel is supporting the formative phase of a pilot project electronic health information system for NCDs and helping to plan for the GHLI Forum for Change in Trinidad. She writes, “My experience in Trinidad has married complex health information system (HIS) ambitions with mango chow (garlic, hot pepper, cilantro mango salad) and chicken roti (essentially a curried chicken burrito — forgive me, Trini friends!).”

Yale GHLI develops leadership, at Yale and around the world, through education and research programs that strengthen health systems, promote health equity, and advance quality of care. GHLI brings together policymakers, practitioners, and researchers to foster evidence-based problem solving, inspire leadership and debate critical issues in global health. Read the GHLI blogs.