Healthright Frontline Health Workers: Safina Yusuf, Uganda - a podcast by NYU School of Global Public Health

HealthRight and I AM GPH have partnered to bring you this 4-part podcast series profiling four different Frontline health workers (FHWs) and their work in four different countries. 

Northern Uganda is home to one of the largest refugee settlements in the world. The majority of refugees residing there are South Sudanese women and children who have fled conflict and violence. While there are limited data on the mental health needs in this population, HealthRight has observed high rates of depression, anxiety and PTSD among refugees residing in these settlements. In this episode, we speak with Safina Yusuf, a Ugandan HealthRight interventionist who is working to implement an intervention called, Self-Help Plus (SH+), which is a form of cognitive behavioral therapy that addresses psychological distress resulting from significant adversity without relying on trained mental health professionals. Safina discusses her view from the front lines of the global mental health response: life in the settlement, her work building mental health capacity, and Self-Help Plus (SH+).

As a global health NGO focused on health system strengthening for marginalized populations, much of HealthRight's work is devoted to building the capacity of FHWs to better meet the needs of the communities they serve. These are some of those stories. This podcast series is hosted by Dr. Peter Navario, Executive Director of HealthRight and Clinical Associate Professor at NYU's College of Global Public Health.

Frontline health workers play an essential role in the prevention, identification and response to ill-health globally. For marginalized communities in particular, FHWs are the only link between them and the health system. Investment in FHWs has been shown to be a highly cost-effective way to ensure healthier, safer communities around the world.

For more information about HealthRight and its programs please visit: www.healthright.org or visit them on Twitter or Instagram.

To learn more about the NYU College of Global Public Health, and how our innovative programs are training the next generation of public health leaders, visit publichealth.nyu.edu.

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