Notes from the Field 2008

I must say this experience has been very fulfilling and interesting. This last week at the WHO has been busy. It is time to finally put things together and round up everything I have been working on for the whole internship period. For this final week we put together a final list of experts for the 2008 Expert consultation on Waist circumference and Waist-to- Hip ratio. It was great to observe that this list was exhaustive, covering experts from the entire WHO region- America, Africa, Eastern Mediterranean, Western Pacific, European and South East Asia. In addition, the WHO BMI database has been updated with all the new studies and WHO STEPS (STEPwise approach to Surveillance) studies

I must warn you that this STEPS is very different from what we know in the US as the STEPS study. STEPS -WHO is a simple, standardized method for collecting, analysing and disseminating data in WHO member countries. By using the same standardized questions and protocols, all countries can use STEPS information not only for monitoring within-country trends, but also for making comparisons across countries. The approach encourages the collection of small amounts of useful information on a regular and continuing basis.

I was so happy to be allowed to view a photo shoot of WHO babies (and Assistant Director General for Food Safety) who were being breastfed! It was organized by the department of Food safety. It was such a lovely sight- with babies representing every continent! I bet these babies will grow up to be open to diversity and better tolerate people from other cultures because they get the exposure at such a tender age (2weeks to 10months)!! All the babies wore nice little shirts that said "mummy’s milk is the best!" in all the 6 WHO official languages. (I personally know 2 of these babies and their mums who work for the Nutrition department (from the Philippines and USA)

After my internship contract was finally over, my sister and my cousin flew over to see the beautiful city of Geneva. We went for a tour ride through Geneva and a cruise! This was a lot of fun. It was my first cruise in a big boat!! Although the free drinks they offered us disappointed us, we still had a lot of fun.

In all, I think this experience has been enriching both educationally and otherwise. I had the opportunity of meeting some great people and had a first-hand experience working in an organization I have admired since childhood. Pardon me if this statement is a bit exaggerated, but I think I have just been given the chance to live the dream of every Ghanaian child, born and raised in Ghana with an interest in the biological sciences- TO VISIT THE WHO!
Thanks to everyone who made this possible. I am truly grateful.
I couldn’t have asked for a better summer!!

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Last Friday, I traveled to the Chocolate factory in Broc, Cheese factory and Chateau de Gruyeres in Gruyere and to Montreux! Pictures of this journey are attached below
WHO INTERNS-SUMMER 2008
PICTURE WITH DG AND ADG OF WHO
@ MONTREUX
STILL @ MONTREUX
STILL @ MONTREUX
CHATEAU DE GRUYERES
STILL @ CHATEAU DE GRUYERES
GRUYERES
GRUYERES


WITH CHERRY (THE COW) @ THE CHEESE
FACTORY IN GRUYERE
@ THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY IN BROC
LOTS OF TASTY SAMPLES

@ ILO CONFERENCE ROOM WITH SOME FRIENDS

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The past few weeks have been busy with more electronic searches and conference calls to decide on experts who will be attending the WHO expert consultation on Waist-to-Hip ratio and Waist Circumference. It has been quite interesting hearing the voices of some authors of journal articles I have read.
Inspite of my busy schedule, I have been able to visit the United Nations and ILO (International Labour Organisation) during lunch breaks.
In addition to this, I have taken walks to Geneva city to see the Jet d’Eau- Water Jet (the highest water fountain in the world!!). Some locals told me that no one comes to Geneva without seeing the Jet d’Eau!
Although I wasn’t in town during the 2008 UEFA Championships, I still get to see one of the many “lawn football clocks� (Picture shown below) one of the many lovely decorations for Geneva’s hosting of 2008 UEFA Championships.

The intern induction last week was another great opportunity to meet more interns and learn more about the structure and work of the WHO. One lecture that particularly caught my attention was that on Infectious Diseases. With the help of my Fundamental Epidemiology class, I felt very good I could understand most of his terminology and explain graphical representations of stories of infectious diseases from different countries around the world. The most important take home message from this meeting is “ with globalization, an infectious disease outbreak is no longer the problem of that country, but a global problem where everyone must be concerned and help fight it.�

More of my activities are explained with pictures…

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My second week in Geneva was great. Among other exciting activities, I had the opportunity of meeting the Director General (DG) and Assistant Director General (ADG) of the WHO (Organisation Mondiale de la Sante), started a French class and worked on the WHO Body Mass Index (BMI) database.
The meeting with the DG (Dr Chang from China) and ADG (Dr Asamoah-Baah from Ghana) was very interesting and educative. All interns were available for a group picture with the DG. I was particularly impressed with Dr Chang’s summarized speech on the role and goals of the WHO. With very meaningful and comprehensible examples encountered in the field, she explained public health, it’s relevance in how the WHO reaches its goals.She particularly emphasized on education and health as the basic weapons needed to fight poverty around the world.
In the WHO, the working language is mainly English. However, in Geneva city, it is difficult communicating with locals. In light of this, I have started a short French class to help my basic everyday French.
These are some of the few lines I have picked so far:

French: Je m’appele Matilda Essandoh Laar
English: My name is Matilda Essandoh Laar

French : Je vien de Ghana
English: I come from Ghana

French: Je travaille dans EPICH, U of MN
English: I work at EPICH, U of MN

French: J’etudie Sante publique
English: I am studying Public Health

French: Et toi comment t’appelle tu?
English: And you, what is your name?

Cost of living in Switzerland is very high. To give you an idea of what I am saying
A McDonald's meal is about 13 swiss francs (about 13 dollars)
Starbucks coffee is 6 swiss francs (6 dollars) per cup.
For a while I was enthusiastic about the price of McDonald's serving as a deterrent to customers, to promote healthier food choices. Unfortunately, this is not the case. A descent healthy lunch costs about 20-25 minimum, making McDonalds still the cheapest option available.

Geneva shares a border with a city in France-Ferney. One can actually travel to Ferney by bus. Too bad I can’t go because

Posted at 03:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

These are some pictures for the first blog.

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06/28/2008

I arrived in Geneva, Switzerland on the 22nd of June 2008, after a rather short vacation in Ghana. I live in Versoix (relatively more rural, with old buildings, farms and lots of greens), about 30 minutes by bus to Geneva.

I started my internship on the morn of Monday, the 23rd with a quick orientation around the WHO, which is made up of several departments. ( It is almost unbelievable that the management provides, what they call a “ relaxing room� where people can take a nap if they feel exhausted after travel or are a bit under the pressures of work!!!). I am working with the Department of Nutrition for Health and Development (NHD) located on the sixth floor of the WHO building. This floor houses other departments like the Chronic disease, Mental health who do a lot of collaborative work with my department.

The NHD is currently working on organizing an expert consultation to decide on cut-off points for waist circumference in relation to risks for cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome and mortality & some diseases like cancer and sleep apnea. For my first week, I have been working on finding cutoffs being used by different WHO countries, and reasons for their choices.

I guess this is the season for interns, because there are so many interns from different countries and disciplines. My first interesting experience here happened on my first day whilst waiting for an intern badge to access the WHO building. I observed that most of the WHO workers arrive at work from the hours of 9am to about 10am, in groups of about 25- 30 with the Bus #8, marked (OMS, the French words for WHO). They were all smartly dressed and look very determined to make the world a healthier place. What piqued my attention most was how diverse the workers were; people from all parts of the world, of every race. I guess this sight struck me because I have never seen such a mass representation of the world at a single location.

On my second day, I was invited to one of my departments traditional birthday breakfast for a “WHO Growth charts� team member. I think its really nice that they take time off their busy schedules to celebrate with a co-worker.

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