It was a volunteering stint at a Community Health Hospital in the second year of dental school that changed the direction of my life. What was supposed to an engagement to kill time over spring break became the inflection point at 19 years of age. Raised in a middle-class family outside India, my definition of poverty was simplistic – it meant beggars on the street and being ill means just meant you went to a doctor to get treated and viola- you were cured. I finished that internship deeply pained on how social inequities determined your ability to access healthcare. Naivete and yet armed with a determination to do something is what propelled me to move to the development sector.
Over the last seventeen years, I have traversed through community-based organizations, grass-roots level organizations, domestic and international organizations. From activism to advocacy to technical work to policy formulation, I have been humbled and blown away about how complex public health is, and yet not rocket science, if there is genuine intent and understanding.
In my current role as a Technical Expert on Health Systems Strengthening, I strive for meaningful collaborations and developing strategies to design and implement resilient and inclusive health systems both in India and globally.
