Michelle Munyikwa is a MD/PhD (anthropology) candidate at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research centers on the experiences of refugees resettling in Philadelphia, PA. In this interview she discusses some of the unique challenges facing new residents of the city.

How do we achieve “evidence-based medicine” in global health delivery? Publications, abstracts, and comments (including my own) often cite a lack of data from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In my experience, many of the publications in global health often do not involve local stakeholders, and when they do, it is often in name only. In order to create a robust, inclusive body of knowledge contributing to evidence-based medicine relevant for global health, research must be context-specific. We often talk of capacity building in medicine, developing and investing in training...

While there are a lot of ways and many different people who can get you to the hospital in rural India, there is only one group of people who can take you home: your family. This reality is a mix of legal precedent and cultural tradition. When you are alive, a diversity of options listed above—some expensive, some reasonably priced, some free—are available to you. But when you die, there is no train or bus or friendly lorry driver; there is only one option. Your family must arrange a ride in a private vehicle capable of transporting a dead body. (Colleagues tell me that in some parts of...

Botswana is a small, landlocked country in Southern Africa that is widely considered a development success story. Although the country is hailed for its impressive economic growth, good governance, fiscal management, and robust primary healthcare delivery, vast improvements in tertiary healthcare are urgently...