Today we were afforded the incredible opportunity to meet with members of the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and US Embassy in Tanzania. For many in my cohort, working for a global health leader like the CDC is a “dream job”; where we all want to end up someday. After a twenty-minute presentation inundated with three letter acronyms detailing projects in all realms of public health (malaria, HIV, and epidemiology to name a few), I couldn’t picture the connection between vision and action at the CDC. How does all of the strategic leadership, critical thinking, and decision making that occur at the national level ultimately result in action at the local level? Conversely, who informs the CDC of what health areas need attention? And who actually implements all of the CDC’s efforts?
No one had a clear answer to these relatively big questions of mine. Some staff members answered that other private international partners carry out their projects; others mentioned local partners in Tanzania. I’m still a little confused about who is physically in the field right now taking notes, weighing babies, giving vaccines, and reporting back to the CDC.
Personally, I don’t think I’ve spent enough time “getting my hands dirty” in the field of public health to fully understand how entities like the CDC work at the national level. Public health is a multifaceted and dynamic field that is always changing. In order to best understand the real needs of communities, I feel that I need to spend more time working at the grassroots level before holding a position of leadership in global health.
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