• I always knew I wanted to venture into public health and research, but I had no idea where to start. I knew no one in the field, had no guidance, and felt like an outsider. Then, I came across Africa Academy for Public Health (AAPH) —an organization dedicated to research, training and practice. This was the opportunity I had been waiting for.

    When I found the internship portal, I hesitated. Would I even be selected? But I applied regardless. And then—oh, I did get selected. What followed was a beautiful journey that took me across both rural and urban health facilities in three different regions: Dar es Salaam, Kagera, and Tabora. Until then, I had only understood healthcare from the perspective of treating individual patients, but this experience changed everything. I got an insider’s view of health systems, immersed myself in the diverse cultures of the three regions, and worked closely with professionals across different cadres—nurses, government officials, and patients alike. Every day in the field was a new lesson, a new story, a new inspiration. In just a few months, I received intensive research and quality assessment training that reshaped my perspective.

    At AAPH, I worked under the guidance of research giants. These were not just supervisors—they were mentors who led with patience and wisdom. I could ask what I thought were the most naïve questions, yet they answered me as if I had posed the most profound inquiry. AAPH has bosses, of course, but you’d hardly know because the work culture is so supportive and welcoming. It is serious enough to instill accountability, yet friendly enough to foster growth.

    One of the most remarkable moments of my internship came when I found myself balancing research and program work, eager to maximize every learning opportunity. At one point, I was required to be in Kagera for fieldwork while an intensive training was happening in Dar es Salaam. I wanted to be in both. ‘This is the start of my career, and I do not want to miss a thing’. When I voiced my concerns, my two supervisors did not just dismiss them; instead, they sat together, then with me, discussing ways to adjust my schedule so I could effectively handle my workload without feeling overwhelmed. Oh, that moment—that moment cemented my admiration for AAPH’s work culture, and it empowered me to thrive. And thrive, I did.

    Throughout my internship, I worked in the field, collected data, analyzed findings, wrote technical reports, and even became the first author of a manuscript titled “Stakeholder perspectives on the barriers to family planning services provision: a qualitative study in eastern Tanzania”. I mentored fellow interns and volunteers, particularly those who joined after me.

    One of my biggest achievements while at AAPH was winning the 2025 Untold Story Global Contest hosted by Global Health NOW and the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH), where I was named one of the two grand prizewinners. The opportunities at AAPH are boundless, and I seized every one of them.

    Thanks to Africa Academy for Public Health, my dreams feel closer than ever. The path that once seemed so uncertain now feels clear and attainable. I have grown in ways I never imagined, and I now know what I want and how to get there.

    To aspiring researchers and public health professionals—if you have the chance to intern at AAPH, take it. And when you do, give it your all. Because at AAPH, what you put in, you receive back tenfold. The mentors are invested in your growth and your knowledge, and they want nothing more than to see you succeed. This has been a defining chapter in my journey, and I will carry its lessons with me forever.

    PS: AAPH, we’re not done yet!

    Doreen Smart, MD.

    #FORBETTERPUBLICHEALTH

    AAPH Intern Testimonial: Dr. Doreen Smart
    From Uncertainty to Clarity: How AAPH Became One of the Best Decisions for My Career
    Custom text:

  • The AAPH internship experience has been very rich in helping me understand how to set up and operate a large research project. Nevertheless, it has given me a great understanding of the challenges Tanzania is facing in the health sector pushing me to think about ways to overcome those challenges to improve and save lives of not only Tanzanians but other developing regions as well.

    The TOV4 and TOV5 research projects gave me an opportunity to travel to different health clinics in Tanzania and this was really important because I was also able to learn through observation. I also had a chance to interact with the nurses and doctors working in those clinics and getting their perspective on health issues and the services they provide as well as the challenges they face and how they overcome them.

    It was truly valuable to also work with my mentors Dr. Chris Sudfeld as well as Dr. Alfa Muhihi because they guided me throughout and gave me a chance to work on various assignments.

    Florence Tesha
    Rising Junior at Duke University double majoring in Global Health and Chinese.
    Custom text:

  • AAPH provided the opportunity to understand the issues surrounding healthcare in the developing world and explore my interest in public health. Also, the internship presented a good balance between research tasks, field visits and training opportunities.

    I had the chance to meet many health care professionals within MDH and also during visits to health facilities and trainings where I received firsthand accounts about the challenges of the health care system. Also, I was very lucky to meet the principal investigator of the live hepatitis study who gave me some great tips for graduate school and linked me to a great contact.

    Misinzo Moono
    Rising Senior at Lehigh University majoring in psychology with a concentration in clinical and behavioral health and minoring in health, medicine and society.
    Custom text:

  • My summer experience in Dar es Salaam was a tremendous cultural learning experience. I benefited greatly from the extremely warm hospitality of Tanzanians and so, I made it a point to interact with the people around me as much as possible, in as much Swahili as I could use.

    With regards to public health, I realized the complex mechanisms involved in setting up and operating a clinical study and specifically, realized how important it is to have a very comprehensive plan, down to every last question on a questionnaire, in order to ensure that what you’re measuring is actually what you seek to explore.

    Furthermore, through the need for a significant cultural adjustment on my part, I learned that global health work requires significant commitment and that if I truly want to improve health in Tanzania, India or elsewhere, I would be most equipped by learning much more about the local people, language and culture.

    Pranay Nadella
    Rising Senior at Harvard University majoring in Statistics with a concentration in Global Health and Health Policy.
    Custom text:

  • My internship experience at AAPH helped me understand the work that NGOs go through when seeking funding from outside sources. I learned a lot about grant proposal writing structures, including the logic framework, and the language used to convince a committee that your initiative is worthwhile.

    I met with teachers who would draft a curriculum and supplies list for the program, and I communicated with my mentors along the way. It made me appreciate how an NGO runs and reflect on whether I could see myself working with one in the future.

    This experience allowed me to think about mental health and its relation to public health more seriously. I am excited to learn more about global health in my future studies and perhaps will integrate it with my studies of the mind.

     

    Julia Versel
    Rising Junior at Harvard College studying Neurobiology on the Mind, Brain, and Behavior track.
    Custom text: