Humphrey Fellow Dr. Nida Ali is a recipient of the inaugural 40 Under 40 Public Health Catalyst Award. Organized by the Boston Congress of Public Health, individuals who receive this award are changemakers for social justice within public health, catalyzing excellence in public health leadership, entrepreneurship, research, advocacy, and scholarship. In 2011, Dr. Ali found her passion for public health and joined the Ministry of Population Welfare in Pakistan, where she headed the Sexual and Reproductive Health Unit at Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi. As a young professional, she began to understand the dynamics of sexual health in her country, realizing the extent to which female health is jeopardized simply due to a lack of health literacy. Under her leadership, her team educated women in their communities by organizing communication events and going door to door to help women and their spouses with unmet health needs. In 2017, Dr. Ali began working with the World Health Organization’s Polio Eradication Program. She worked at various administrative levels for five years and traveled throughout Pakistan. Using her extensive knowledge of program management, disease surveillance, immunization, monitoring and evaluation, and data analysis, Dr. Ali headed the Islamabad Division for technical support on polio eradication.  Learn more about her work here. 

“I hope one day I can tell my son the story of how polio was eradicated and how no child will ever be paralyzed by this virus again.”

Dr. Ali was a 2021-2022 Humphrey Fellow at Emory University. She completed a professional affiliation with the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Presently she works with the Coalition for Global Hepatitis Elimination at the Task Force for Global Health, supporting the development of a multi-country operational research project to improve access to hepatitis B and C prevention, testing, and treatment for persons who inject drugs in low-and middle-income countries. 

Humphrey Fellow Johnson Mayamba joined 30 African media trainers, journalists, and university faculty from 10 eastern and southern African countries who were selected by the African Union (AU) for a media training on sensitive reporting on harmful practices in Nairobi, Kenya. As an experienced Ugandan journalist reporting on human rights, he collaborated with professionals from 20-member states implementing AU campaigns to end child marriage and female genital mutilation and develop strategies to coordinate sensitive information dissemination. Mr. Mayamba engaged with 30 gender media practitioners and journalism scholars to peer review the continental communication and advocacy strategy for human rights-based reporting on harmful practices. While in Nairobi, he met with key stakeholders from World Vision, Plan International, USAID, and non-government organizations championing the fight against these harmful practices.

Johnson Mayamba was a 2021-2022 Humphrey Fellow from Uganda. While at Arizona State University, he honed his skills in strategic communication and multimedia journalism. As part of his Humphrey experience, he completed his professional affiliation with the U.S Commission on Civil Rights and helped coordinate all communications and key messaging for the Commission's 65th anniversary.

Humphrey alumna Andia Meksi led a training with 20 health staff from multiple schools in Tirana, Albania, on the topic "Prevention, identification, and treatment of mental health problems in children, adolescents, and young people in schools." This professional training aids health personnel in primary and secondary schools in providing school-based mental and behavioral health services while also identifying risk factors for mental health challenges in children and adolescents. 

Ms. Meksi was a Humphrey Fellow at Virginia Commonwealth University from 2020-2021. As a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist, she specializes in drug treatment and care, education, and implementation of mental health research projects. She is currently a Mental Health and Substance Abuse Specialist for the Department of Health Promotion at the Institute of Public Health in Albania.

Humphrey alumnus Dr. Kouame Remi Oussou has partnered with American Spaces at Felix Houphouet Boigny University in Côte d'Ivoire to lead a series of practical workshops for students on career readiness. As a teacher and professional development specialist who enhanced his expertise in instructional coaching and mentorship during his Humphrey year, Dr. Oussou focused on job readiness because he discovered that his students' biggest concern was finding a good job after college. His training series covers job searching tools, networking, resume writing, cover letter editing, mock interviews, and more. Dr. Oussou has led two training sessions so far, focusing on job search techniques and resume writing best practices. He is eager to continue working with the more than 50 students participating in this pilot series.  

Dr. Kouame Remi Oussou was a Humphrey Fellow at Penn State University from 2018-2019. During his Humphrey year, he completed his professional affiliation at Penn State Career Services and worked closely with Associate Director of Career Counseling Matthew Ishler. After learning so much from this experience, he published the book "Guide to a Great Career: Landing the Dream Job" in 2019. Presently Dr. Oussou is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at the Université Alassane Ouattara and an Academy Administrator for Université Internationale Clairefontaine.