This is my first time in Kenya, and it’s wonderful. We’ve been making the most of our time here, spending our weekends on Safari, taking a boat trip on Lake Victoria, and eating some truly incredible pineapple from Jubilee Market. Outshining all of that though, is the team. We’re so fortunate to be working with so many strong and joyous people who are doing such difficult and impactful work.
In his post last week, Sahil gave a great overview of the ongoing projects and daily work the team is responsible for. I want to zoom out a bit and provide some context for this work. Cervical cancer claims hundreds of thousands of lives every year, and the vast majority of these deaths are in low- and middle-income countries. With HPV vaccinations and screenings, cervical cancer is entirely preventable. But here in Western Kenya, the health system has no capacity for these services. So not only is the team’s work helping to understand implementation challenges of mHealth programs and the efficacy of stigma reduction education, but the care women receive through the research is often the only opportunity for screening and treatment they’ll have.
“We’re so fortunate to be working with so many strong and joyous people who are doing such difficult and impactful work.”
With that framing, the team’s long hours, sacrifices, and management of multiple simultaneous studies is just that much more impressive.
Meanwhile, as we familiarize ourselves with the study work, we’re also learning a lot about the research process. We’re really lucky to be here during the time of the stigma surveys, the payoff of the Elimisha study. Those moments, sitting outside a health center with women and community health promoters, take so, so much preparation work. That’s one of those things that you can understand in theory, but it’s hard to understand the extent of that work until you’re in it.
When we arrived, the idea of working on projects that wouldn’t be seen for months seemed strange when there was so much more pressing work to be done. It’s clear now that that foundational work is crucial. There needs to be something solid to build off of when things get going, and that means doing the initial legwork well before it seems necessary.
We know we’ll probably never see the results of the work we’re doing now, but it won’t go unnoticed. When things pick up, the team will be grateful for the work that’s been done. Hopefully the time we save them can be used to improve the screening, community mobilization, or app usability in ways that result in more care for more women. In global health work, sometimes you have to put in the work without knowing what might come of it. It’s a process imbued with so much trust. We’re so lucky to be trusted with being a part of this work, and we trust that those who come after will continue to care for the research and take steps to reduce health inequities in whatever ways they can.
“We’re so lucky to be trusted with being a part of this work, and we trust that those who come after will continue to care for the research and take steps to reduce health inequities in whatever ways they can.”