Major
Biological Sciences
Advisor
Derbyshire, Lynne
Advisor Department
Honors Program
Date
5-2016
Keywords
healthcare; Ghana; health disparities; bridge; America; physicians
Abstract
Ghana is a developing country in West Africa with a population of approximately 25 million people. Although this beautiful and fruitful nation has made strides to better the economy by ways of improving the politics, the infrastructure of the nation, the education system and the healthcare system, Ghana is still suffering. Similar to many other developing countries, illness and mortality are still commonly faced struggles in the nation of Ghana. The healthcare system is falling short of its potential; it needs people who are willing to catalyze change. Healthcare providers must identify how they can satisfy the medical needs of the population. Within the past few decades, there has been a shortage of people who are capable of fulfilling these needs. The first goal of my project is to be a bridge. As an aspiring physician, I want to be the bridge between the healthcare disparities in our developed country and the developing and underprivileged countries that need better medical attention. As a bridge, I want to raise awareness about the conditions that threaten the quality of life of the Ghanaian people, as well as bring attention to the motivated people and organizations working to make a difference. I will bring attention to this subject matter, via a public service announcement. With an emphasis on communication, I am hoping to reach a wide audience with my campaign and encourage other healthcare providers to bridge the gap between our two nations.
Foreign language acquisition is the second goal of this project. Foreign languages are integral parts of international relations, trade, and communication. Specifically, I am learning the Akan language, Twi, predominantly spoken in Ghana to exemplify how learning a foreign language can be a large component of bridging the gap between developing countries such as Ghana and the United States. The public service announcement will be spoken in Twi and will include English subtitles. By bringing together the two languages, I am hoping to unify the people of these two nations. With aspirations to become a physician and travel to Ghana to practice medicine, I am hoping I can spearhead other healthcare providers to also travel to Ghana, and other nations like it to work to better the lives of so many people.