‘Local Public Health Departments Impact Our Health In Many Ways’.

Bolanle Banigbe Activist Fellow on Regionalization

Breakfast: Plain yogurt and granola

Hometown: Ikere-Ekiti, Nigeria

Extracurricular: At the moment, long walks. I also try to read novels when I can.

Bola Banigbe is a DrPH candidate focusing on health systems strengthening and chronic diseases in low and middle-income countries. As the current Activist Fellow on Regionalization, she works with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) to create a sustainable, regional system for equitable delivery of local public health services across the Commonwealth.    

Why did you apply to be the Activist Fellow on Regionalization? 

I applied to be a Fellow because I want an experience that will complement my formal education here at SPH and will help to prepare me for the next phase of my career at a more senior level of public health policy and programming.

I was excited about this opportunity in Regionalization specifically because I wanted exposure to the policy implementation process, which can be just as messy and intense, if not more so, than getting policy passed. The MDPH is starting to implement the recommendations of the Special Commission on Local and Regional Public Health, so I thought this is a good time to be involved. I also wanted to learn how the local public health system in Massachusetts works, and see if I could discover some lessons and best practices to take back home to Nigeria.

Why is this project important? How does it impact health? 

The work of local public health departments impacts our health in many ways. These departments ensure the safety and wellbeing of citizens on a wide range of issues, from food safety inspection and enforcing tobacco regulations to monitoring drinking water supplies. 

For many reasons, including the fact that each town and city in Massachusetts has its own autonomous local public health department with varying levels of capabilities and resources, they are not all able to fulfill their statutory responsibilities, which jeopardizes public health and contributes to inequitable health outcomes. 

I am working on one of the Special Commission’s recommendations to increase the cross-jurisdictional sharing of public health services in order to strengthen service delivery capacity of the local public health departments. When completed, groups of towns and cities can come together to share resources and expertise in a way that ensures all citizens receive essential public health services in an equitable fashion.

What have you been working on so far this semester? What have you learned?

I am working with the team to develop an RFR for a planning grant to implement one of the special commission’s recommendations. It is a different set of considerations when you are on the side requesting grant proposals than when you are responding to one. I am also doing a lot of reading on the local public health system to ground myself in the background and history of this project. I will be attending local Boards of Health meetings over the next few weeks to understand how they function. I am learning that even though there is no “one size fits all” solution to local public health issues, you can still improve on what currently exists.

What do you hope to accomplish or learn by the end of your Fellowship?

I hope to become more grounded in policy implementation and gain more confidence to engage with the politics involved in improving population health. And my advice to any student interested in an Activist Fellowship is to do it! Ask lots of questions and keep your eyes open to the many projects happening around you. There is so much to learn, especially at MDPH. It’s a great opportunity. 

Click here to learn more about the Activist Fellowship Program.

— Emily Barbo