Karen Mukasa

Hello there,

Welcome, and thank you for taking the time!

I’m Karen a medical student at Royal College of surgeons Ireland (RCSI)- Dublin. It is an incredible honour to be a team lead on RCSI’s first ever student led global health initiative in Malawi happening this summer. Your help towards this initiative will go a long way and here’s why;

In the southern lakeside district of Mangochi, Malawi, access to health care and HIV prevention is taking a hard hit.

Following a recent freeze of USAID funding, Malawi, a country where USAID previously covered ~13% of the national budget (1), is facing a public health crisis. Clinics are understaffed, supplies have run dry, and vital HIV prevention programs like PrEP have been abruptly halted. For communities like Mangochi, this will have devastating consequences. As it stands children are diagnosed with HIV without proper support, teenagers go without proper medication and most community members must travel all the way to the capital just to learn basic sexual health information. This is where you can help us make a difference.

Why This Matters For Malawi?

RCSI students will contribute to local health universities near Blantyre, Malawi focusing on aspects such as:

• Cultural and knowledge exchange

• Research collaboration

Students will assist operations at Mulibwanji Hospital by:

• Supporting clinical tasks

• Reducing staff workload

• Assisting with hospital maintenance

• Engaging in community outreach efforts

Students may support projects including

Under-five clinics, providing preventative and curative care for children under the age of five.

Students will raise funds to support local medical needs, including:

• General hospital supplies

• Medications such as HIV PreP

• Menstrual hygiene kits

• Nutritional supplements (e.g., oral rehydration solutions)

Why This Matters For Students?

Students will gain real-world global health experience through direct involvement in care and education

• Students will collaborate with local medical students and professionals, fostering cross-cultural exchange

• Students will attend academic courses near Blantyre, Malawi

Students will participate in:

• Project design

• Data collection

• Fundraising initiatives

• On-the-ground implementation of health projects

Students will learn essential skills in:

• Ethical global health engagement

• Cultural competency

• Health system navigation in low-resource settings