After four straight hours of hiking up a steep rocky slope in the rain, I was exhausted. The past hour had felt like
Studying in a developing nation, I definitely expected there to be some challenges, but I was amazed about how Malawi showed me how to be creative and come up with solutions. Our study abroad program to Blantyre, Malawi was focused on infectious diseases more common to East Africa, like HIV, Malaria, and Schistosomiasis. With a passion for global health, I was so excited to be able to work in endemic areas first-hand and to explore a future career in research or medicine. We spent a majority of our time shadowing in local hospitals and conducting research with the Blantyre Malawi Project – an MSU supported project that is investigating how Malaria can cause comas in young children. Our project focused on optimized a test that detects Malaria in blood and finding a way to make it more sensitive while also not raising the cost too much. For many other labs in more developed areas these costs wouldn’t be so critically thought of, but working in Malawi it was always at the forefront of our minds. Overcoming challenges like these was amazing to watch. I was able to witness the beauty of a community of women and their children receiving vaccinations to support a national vaccination rate that is higher than even the United States’. Even though many of the families couldn’t easily see a doctor, medical professionals would go door to door to make sure that all had received their necessary vaccinations or bring them to one of the local clinics. Although all of these setbacks are definitely not ideal, it shows the power in community and creativity for coming up with solutions. I feel so fortunate to have this experience in Malawi, learning how to adapt and having my passion for global health flourish.
Name: Georgia Artzberger
Status: Senior
Major: Biomedical Laboratory Science; Comparative Cultures and Politics
Hometown: Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Program: Malawi: Infectious Diseases of Africa