By Audu Stephen Amodu MBBS, MPH
Initially, I was apprehensive at the thought of attending the APHA conference, but got over this after attending the seminar on making the most of the APHA meeting by the MCHLT. This strengthened my resolve to make the best of the meeting as I had the information to organize my plans from the opening ceremony to the last day of the conference.
The theme of the 142nd APHA annual meeting and expo – “Healthography” – was not only inspiring, positive and challenging, but the opening ceremony and speech set the bar high and further reinforced my goals of serving people across all spectrums to create a better standard of living, particularly in the underserved regions of world.
Attending the APHA meeting was very educational, exciting and fun. From the various sessions, poster presentations, expo booths, and interacting with leaders in the field of public health, making new connections in my network is something I really valued and appreciated.
The most fascinating and informative sessions were the business meetings where leaders in the field of maternal and child health and other fields in public health were very open in sharing and discussing issues, advancements and challenges from a practical point. This was very helpful to me, as I was able to get advice on advancing my career to meet the current and future needs in the maternal and child health field.
In addition, I found the different presentations to be informative as different and unique perspectives and research findings on social determinants of health as it relates to the field of maternal and child health were shared, from both the developed and developing world. This inspired me beyond words as it narrowed my goals to serve women and children in communities with greater health disparities.
Beside the educative and informative sessions, I had fun meeting up with old friends, and making new ones, sharing experiences and hanging out to experience New Orleans cuisines, architecture and people.
I am positively looking ahead to next year’s APHA conference “Health in All Policies” in Chicago, to further explore the experiences of public health leaders making positive impact in the quest to better the lot of humanity.
Finally, getting to create networks that I am positive will be of immense value in my search for jobs post-graduation was the icing on the cake for me.
Audu Stephen Amodu is a final-year MPH student in the Department of Global Community Health and Behavioral Sciences concentrating in Maternal and Child Health. His research interests include social determinants of health as it affects women and children in the developing world, orphans and vulnerable children, and HIV and STI prevention among underserved population.
