Through my work in slum communities, I would like to combat health inequities among marginalized populations through a holistic approach that safeguards human capital, emphasizing the inclusion of vulnerable populations, tackles climate change and food insecurity through One Health, and improves Universal Health Coverage in the most vulnerable countries and regions of the world.

Dr. Cassandra Akinde
Public Health Physician

Meet Dr. Cassandra Akinde, our Public Health Insight Community Star! Dr. Akinde is a Public Health Physician in the area of Tropical Medicine, Child Health and Policy Advocacy in Nigeria. 

In this post, Cassandra shares her passion for public health by providing responses to the following questions:

What does public health mean to you?

Public Health is a multidisciplinary aspect of the health sector that focuses on improving and protecting community health and well-being, emphasizing disease prevention among large groups of people. By targeting populations rather than individuals, we can put the community needs at the center, thereby empowering communities with making informed decisions regarding their Health and immediate environment. This approach uses community-based health promotion and principles of community organization and empowerment to address health concerns, improve health outcomes and impact behaviour change from within the communities.

What work do you do in public health?

I have been involved in designing, implementing and evaluating health advocacy campaigns and projects in the non-profit and healthcare sector for the past five years. I am currently working in the non-profit sector, focusing on WASH, Malnutrition, Neglected Tropical Diseases, and Child Protection Services in Nigeria. I am also working part-time as a medical researcher at Polygeia in the United Kingdom, conducting research and detailed strategic analysis of vaccination interventions in low-income and middle-income countries to understand factors associated with vaccine hesitancy, maternal and childhood vaccine uptake and develop interventions targeting population needs.

What is your public health message?

Through my work in slum communities, I would like to combat health inequities among marginalized populations through a holistic approach that safeguards human capital, emphasizing the inclusion of vulnerable populations, tackles climate change and food insecurity through One Health, and improves Universal Health Coverage in the most vulnerable countries and regions of the world. Tailoring health care system interventions to contextual factors, rigorously measuring intervention impact, and adapting these interventions informed by evaluations, will contribute to ensuring that the poorest people have the opportunity to live healthier and more productive lives.