Learning by (Assistant) Teaching in South Africa.

For MPH student Selam Hailu, assistant teaching has turned out to be a great way to learn.

In South Africa, Hailu supported two short winter courses at the School of Public Health, University of the Western Cape (UWC). The courses are part of a new specialization at the school in pharmaceutical public health.

Hailu studied pharmacology in her home country of Ethiopia, and went on to work as a pharmaceuticals sales representative, promoter, and ultimately client operations manager for European, American, and African accounts.

But that, she says, didn’t give her the big picture. “I knew very little about how health systems work,” Hailu says. So she came to the School of Public Health because “studying public health would help me see things from a broader perspective.” That perspective, says Hailu, will help her better contribute to healthcare in Ethiopia when she returns.

Hailu says both her pharmaceuticals background and SPH studies have been enriched at UWC, as she assisted with two weeklong courses, one on rational medicines use and the other on medicines supply management. The course lecturers included UWC Senior Lecturer Hazel Bradley, who heads the pharmaceutical public health program, and Richard Laing, professor of global health and extraordinary professor of public health at UWC.

Her practicum included preparing lessons, completing course evaluations, and making contributions for next year’s courses. She has also been helping put together the online versions of the classes.

Guest lecturers from the South African Department of Health, Hailu says, have been particularly helpful in gaining insight into country-wide medicines management. “These are people who are involved in developing the Essential Medicines List and the procurement of medicines at the national level,” she says. “It was really nice to hear their experiences and what they had to say about what the challenges are and how difficult things can be, and why they are so.”

There is plenty to learn from the students and other interns as well, Hailu says. “There are people from lots of different African countries here—working in different sectors.” They present an invaluable experience “to understand why some processes work and others don’t in their countries—and hopefully try to understand if these can be translated into the setup that we have in Ethiopia and learn from other African countries.”

Her time in South Africa has also meant learning more about the history and public health needs of the country, she says. In particular, Hailu notes visiting a nearby township (an underdeveloped urban area for non-white South Africans during apartheid) with other UWC interns, and learning about health issues from residents firsthand. Hailu also visited Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years before the fall of apartheid—an emotional experience, she says.

Hailu’s practicum is supported by a Santander Universities Scholarship. “This experience would not have happened if it wasn’t for the scholarship,” she says. “It was basically a choice between not having this practicum and having it.

“The Santander scholarship allowed me to come here, be in a different country, and learn so many different things. I’m very thankful.”

—Michelle Samuels

Selam Hailu is taking over the SPH Instagram account from Cape Town, South Africa, from July 18 through July 22. Follow along at Instagram.com/BUSPH/.