Astha Ramaiya's (BSc '07) passion for health promotion and social justice led her to internship placements in Nepal and work in Tanzania. At the same time, she also pursued a Master’s of Public Health at the University of London (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine). In Nepal, Astha developed a training program for Community Health Workers, and began to engage the community with an online blog.
Astha's work in Tanzania directed a project that provided education to teen mothers who had dropped out of school. By educating these mothers, they are less likely to have further unwanted pregnancies in their teen years; which eventually saves lives. The risk of death in pregnancy and delivery for girls under the age of 15 is incredibly high in developing countries.
Identifying the underlying causes of disease among certain groups, and working with those groups to remove those causes, is what the Public Health program is all about.
Working passionately to improve the health and lives of individuals and communities is a quality that you’ll find in all Waterloo Applied Health Sciences students and alumni, and Astha is a perfect example.
Astha was honoured with the 2011 Applied Health Sciences Young Alumni Award for her continuing efforts using health promotion to make a world of difference.