Cory Goldman, Public Health in Europe, Fall 2014
Earlier this month, our program took a trip to Geneva, Switzerland to visit the headquarters of Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) and the World Health Organization. I was really excited about this trip, and it was one of the reasons I applied for the Public Health in Europe program – when else would I have the opportunity to visit the World Health Organization?
On Monday, we took a three-hour train from Paris to Geneva (trains of this length have now become a normal part of life for me), and as soon as we arrived we were whisked away to the headquarters of Médecins Sans Frontières. It was such an exciting time to visit due to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, and it was really interesting to hear about the epidemic from the perspective of those who were working 24/7 to combat it. After our visit to MSF, our entire program went out for a traditional Swiss dinner of cheese and chocolate fondue – which was, of course, incredible.
Tuesday was one of the most memorable days of study abroad thus far, as it was the day we visited the World Health Organization. It was so inspiring to be in what is essentially the epicenter of public health policy. We attended lectures from several researchers working on a plethora of fascinating topics ranging from maternal health to intellectual property to adolescent sexual health. We ended the day at WHO with some free time to explore their library and do some research for our final research papers… which I should really start writing.
I was too busy eating chocolate that I forgot to take pictures in Geneva, but here’s a picture I took in Paris!