An experience at the Dr. Lee Jong Wook Fellowship under Korean Foundation for International Healthcare
Ist July 2022 - 19th August 2022
The Dr. Lee Jong Wook fellowship program was launched in 2007 in memory of Dr. Lee Jong Wook who served as the sixth Director-General of the World Health Organization and became the first Korean to head an international organization. The fellowship is an invitational training program that has so far trained over 1,000 health professionals from 30 countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America on healthcare technology and health system of Korea. The goal of the program is to strengthen healthcare system of partner countries by supporting capacity building of healthcare workforce.
The Dr. Lee Jong Wook program offers degree courses and six specialized courses. Patricia Eyu, a staff of the Uganda National Institute of Public Health, had the opportunity to be in Cohort 2, which included 20 fellows from seven countries, enrolled in the Infectious Disease Specialist course in Policy and Epidemiology. The program was conducted between 1st July and 19th August 2022 and hosted at Yonsei University, College of Medicine. Yonsei University traces its roots back to 1885 when Christian missionaries founded a hospital that eventually became part of the university. The university currently ranks number 5 for best universities in South Korea.
The Infectious Disease Specialist course in Policy and Epidemiology included lectures from leading public health experts, field trips to key health institutions plus Korean cultural experience and interaction among fellows. Some of the institutions visited include; International Vaccine Institute, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Seoul Research Institute of Public Health and Environment, Wonju Medical Industry Techno Valley, Seoul Metropolitan City Medical Centre among others.
The site visits enabled fellows to get first-hand experience of the Korean health system. The lectures covered topics such as; health policy, planning and management, human resources for health, health financing, global health and ethics, risk communication, antimicrobial resistance, vaccines, epidemiology and biostatistics among others. At the end of the program, all fellows developed an implementable action plan on a health policy issue of interest in their home country with support from a mentor professor.
Key issues highlighted after seven weeks of the program include:
- No country can achieve health security alone. International policies such as the Global Health Security Agenda and International Health Regulations have made the world safer by minimizing the risk of spread of infectious diseases and the impact of disease in affected areas.
- All countries should plan for the next pandemic which is unknown, by continuously building capacity of health workforce and planning finances for emergencies.
- Equity in distribution and access to health care is critical to minimize morbidity and mortality from disease.
- Governments should invest in scientific research and innovations to improve on health care delivery within the country, as there are many threats of emerging infections.
- Simulation exercises should be conducted regularly with the health workforce. These give the health officials a practical feel of how to respond to a particular Disease X and reminds them on their individual roles.
