“Ebola and HIV/AIDS were the reasons for me coming to Africa. I’ve been through 4 Ebola outbreaks so far,” says Luc Victor, UN physician in east Africa. “In the last 36 days we’ve had 109 confirmed cases of Ebola and 51 deaths.” Sadly, 15 of these deaths were among healthcare personnel. But Dr. Victor is undeterred. “I have been living and working in the African continent since 2006. I always wanted a career in healthcare. I also wanted a job that involved the international humanitarian relief and the international diplomatic spheres.” In pursuit of these opportunities, Dr. Victor earned the INMED Professional Certificate in International Medicine and Public Health, and is now about to complete the Master’s Degree in International Health.
“Studying international public health definitely gave me further depth and breadth in my current career path,” observes Dr. Victor. “It’s really heartbreaking when it comes to protection of civilians. The innocent indeed are the first and sometimes the only ones that suffer. Although healthcare should not necessarily involve politics and diplomacy, in peacekeeping the politics and diplomacy are needed to make sure everyone is safe from the most exigent harm – the scourge of war, unrest, and diseases like Ebola that kill two-thirds of people infected.”