We are pleased to share that PhD student Ms Tan Sok Teng was awarded the Equity Initiative Fellowship. Congratulations, Ms Tan!
Launched in 2016, the Equity Initiative (EI) Fellowship programme nurtures and empowers young leaders to pursue and advocate social justice for health in the ASEAN region.
The programme is designed to bring together a diverse group of professionals who have demonstrated commitment, dedication and enthusiasm for leading change for health equity.
Like other world regions, Southeast Asian societies are confronting many health equity challenges: ensuring universal access to primary healthcare; developing pro-equity health financing policies; training workers who will serve the poor and disadvantaged; and tackling the pressing health issues of women and children, migrants and refugees, ethnic minorities, the poor and disadvantaged, and those ravaged by humanitarian crises.
Ms Tan has a heart for the poor and marginalised, and has been involved in work related to refugees since 2007, including with the Federation of Reproductive Health Associations, Malaysia (FRHAM), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Clear Project at Southampton and SSHSPH. She is currently in her second year of study and a President Graduate Scholar. Her PhD is focused on the health of Rohingyas in Malaysia.
“I am really excited about this fellowship programme, and I’m eagerly anticipating the many opportunities to exchange ideas and expertise among fellows from different backgrounds in the region,” said Ms Tan.
EI fellows come from a broad range of sectors and disciplines, including medicine, public health, economics, policymaking, non-governmental social action, environment, legal, business and communications. Ms Tan will join the fifth cohort of Fellows in March 2020.