Elizabeth Ochola is a Post Doctoral Fellow working with Dr. Karla Boluk in the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies at the University of Waterloo. She completed her Ph.D. in Geography under the mentorship of Dr. Susan Elliot; her field research was supported by the Queen Elizabeth Scholarships and the David Johnston International Experience award. Elizabeth is trained in both laboratory and social sciences and is interested in applying an interdisciplinary lens when solving global health challenges. Her current research interests are in infectious disease, wellbeing, gender studies, placemaking initiatives and sustainability.
Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) are a diverse group of communicable diseases or conditions that infect/affect more than one billion of the most impoverished populations living in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It is estimated that NTDs account for 57 million Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs), and with limited access to health services, NTDs continue to interfere with wage-earning potential, education opportunities and wellbeing of communities.
My Ph.D. research examined the impact of NTDs on health and wellbeing in Kenya. To achieve this, I conducted Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with people infected and affected by NTDs across five endemic counties of Kenya. The results of the research revealed that: first, NTDs affect economic output at the individual and community level, which translates to a loss of income at the national level and propagates the cycle of poverty. Second, political factors such as inadequate budgetary allocations, lack of political goodwill from the ruling class and frequent health workers strike frustrate NTD control programs in Kenya. Third, lack of proper housing, illiteracy, poor access to water and sanitation advance NTD infections in the country. As a result, NTDs remain a proxy for inequities since people infected and affected by these diseases lack access to essential services, which denies them a voice to lobby for their human rights.
In the course of my field studies, I was able to travel across Kenya and witness the devastating impacts of NTDs on individuals, families and communities. Despite the pain, suffering and misery that was around me, I was able to capture the lived experiences of people in/affected by NTDs and highlight community-driven NTD strategies complemented by top-down ideas from the policymakers. Based on my field experience, I find it necessary that future NTD programs, enhance community engagement through genuine dialogue and mutual decision-making for the establishment of context-specific solutions to NTDs. Second, there is a need for NTD stakeholders to promote “bottom-up” approaches for enhanced capacity and shared responsibility at the grassroots. Third, there is a need to empower communities with longterm socio-economic opportunities such as literacy programs and employment opportunities for future economic development rather than short-term handouts that promote the vicious cycle of poverty.