GH Graduate Awarded 2015 Global Health Corps Fellowship

McMaster MSc GH program graduate Francine Irakoze was selected from more than 5,000 applicants to join the newest class of Global Health Corps (GHC) Fellows: 134 incredible young leaders with the power to change the future of global health.

The seventh class of GHC fellows represents 19 nationalities and numerous sectors. They are teachers, pharmacists, women’s rights advocates, software developers, and policy analysts – and they are part of the next generation of global health leadership.

Irakoze is currently at Yale University for the 2015-2016 GHC Training Institute, where she and her peers are engaging with global leaders and voices including Kenyan journalist Patricia Amira, best-selling author Dan Heath, and TASO Uganda Founder and Patron Dr. Noerine Kaleeba.

Following their training, fellows will head into the field to take their place among 62 partner organizations in five countries in Africa and the US. Irakoze and the other fellows will work to fill gaps and build capacity up and down the health system and across health issues. Irakoze will be working with an organization called Health Builders in Rwanda, where her responsibilities will include supporting program financial management, researching and drafting grant proposals, and advising field-based staff on refining health center-based management interventions.

“McMaster has played a big role in shaping my global health knowledge and allowing me to get this opportunity. The program allowed me to gain substantive knowledge and acquire technical skills that will greatly benefit Health Builders,” says Irakoze, who is thrilled to be involved with the GHC.

 Global Health News