Welcome back to Western University’s African Experiences Abroad blog!
An exciting 3-week African Field School has just begun and we will be following the cohort of students as they journey through Kenya. Students from the new Professional Master’s in Management of Applied Sciences (MMASc) in Global Health Systems in Africa and thesis-based Collaborative Program in Global Health Systems in Africa will be contributing to daily blog posts.
The students are also Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholars, a unique opportunity to engage with communities across the Commonwealth, learn about cultures and create projects and actions that impact the world.
This Field School will be designed to provide innovative ‘feet-on-the-ground’ learning experiences that embrace the intersection of cultural, social, economic, environmental and health studies on present-day communities-at-risk in Africa.
Similar to what oil was for the 20th Century, water will be the commodity that determines both the wealth and health of nations. One of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (2015-2030) – 17 goals to transform our world – is to ‘ensure access to water and sanitation for all’, highlighting the timely importance of investigating the intersect between water and health. Throughout this Field School, we will look at the relationships between changing freshwater resources and community health in Kenya’s Rift Valley lakes. These lakes extend from Lake Magadi in the south to Lake Baringo in the central and represent about 10% of the total surface area of lakes in Africa, including 7 lakes of remarkable biodiversity.
Join our safari through Kenya as we highlight Western University’s Global Health Systems students’ experiences, insights and adventures.
The Africa Institute Blog 