Country Profile - Sexual Reproductive Health Indicators

The work I have been working on with the Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH) team is the country profile. It is a compilation of SRH data on the 20 Arab countries that the Arab States Regional Office (ASRO) of UNFPA oversees. When I first met with Shible, my supervisor, I told him I am interested in working with data and he gave me this responsibility.

Then, I researched indicators that would be relevant such as maternal mortality rate, fertility rate, adolescent fertility rate, and many others that I did not know existed. Whjile It was searching for data because I came across some interesting data such as suicidal rates and divorce rates and found some surprising facts! (haha, I got distracted!)

After collecting potential indicators, Shible, Afifi, and I sat together to discuss which indicators are most relevant to the office, which will use this tool for advocacy and communication in the future. While finalizing the list, I learned a lot of technical SRH terms that I had not known. I don't come from public health background, so Shible and Afifi filled me in with a lot of SRH information. For example, under "Unmet need for family planning", there are three different categories called "total", "spacing", and "limiting". Also, I searched "antenatal visits" but it was divided into two categories: " 1 visit" and "4 visits". Apparently, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that pregnant women have at least 4 antenatal care visits, but not all women have access, so they are not able to follow WHO's recommendation. 

After the final list was compiled, I collected all the data using databases from the World Bank, WHO, UN Statistics Division, UNICEF, and UNAIDS. I didn't know there was this much data available, but at the same time, I also realized there were a lot of data missing. Some countries have more data than the other and some indicators have more data than the others. Some countries did not have data at all. I am compiling data from 1990 to 2018 and it's hard to find data for every year. But, the World Bank's database has been really helpful because it has the most complete data compared to other databases. 

Once I collected all data, I had to populate everything in one Google sheet. I honestly took two courses on Excel at SIPA in my last semester. The first course was Excel Basics and the second one was the Advanced Excel class. All I remembered from the class was VLOOKUP! But I remember Andy, my former colleague from both UNFPA and SIPA telling me that he learned all the Excel functions and formula on the job. So, I did my Google search on Excel functions. After doing a lot of research, I was able to populate the data. I remember when I figured out that one formula that I needed to populate all the data, I was really happy and felt really smart! Then, I figured out a couple more formula I needed. 

The Country Profile was also presented at the recent meeting in Jordan where representatives from all UNFPA's Arab Country Offices gathered. I was connected on BlueJeans (a software like Skype but UN's version) from my Cairo office while my team was in Amman in Jordan. I got on the call for about 20 minutes to explain about the Country Profile I made and how it can be used to make graphs to analyze SRH data between countries and years. Shible came back this week from the meeting and told me that people were impressed by the Country Profile database I made! :D:D:D:D:D

Meeting with the Regional Director

Today, I had a meeting with the Regional Director (RD) Luay Shabaneh along with three other new comers including one consultant and two staff. The meeting was initiated by the RD. I wasn't sure what the meeting would be about. All I received was an email entitled, "Meeting with the newcomers". I thought maybe he just wanted to get to know the newcomers at UNFPA ASRO. When I just arrived in Cairo, he was not here for about a month because he was on leave, and I met him for the first time in July when he came back from his annual leave.

In the meeting, the RD asked us about what career we hope to pursue and how he wishes to support us for our future career. As someone who is looking for a job after the Master's program, I thought this would be a good opportunity to let him know my aspiration to work at the UN. He gave me various career advice after I let him know that I want to work at the UN in women's rights issues. He told me that I need to work on branding myself by knowing what my skills are. He said, knowledge can be obtained easily but skills aren't. He took turns to talk to each one of us and after let us know that as a director, his indicator for success as a director is seeing his staff grow and fulfill their career aspirations. He also said he will be there to support if it's needed. My colleagues and I felt really supported in this office with his gesture!

From being here, I also got to witness good leadership through the RD. He visits every office to say hello and how are you to all staff every morning. It feels good to be in an office where you are supported by the leader. 

Finally got my UN ID card

UN ID issued from the Arab States Regional Office (ASRO) of UNFPA. Both Arabic and English are written on the ID.

I also did an internship at the Humanitarian and Fragile Context Branch at the UNFPA Headquarters office in New York City, and the ID looks different compared to the one I received so the comparison was interesting.

UN ID card from New York:

Mount Sinai

I went to Sharm el Sheik over the Eid long weekend with three other interns from UNFPA. Sharm el Sheik is where the Red Sea can be found and about 3 hours from it, there is a mountain called the Mount Sinai. We arrived at Mount Sinai at around 1:30 a.m., and hiked up overnight and arrived at the summit by 5:30 a.m. to see the sunrise. This is a really sacred and historical place where Moses received 10 commandments from God. I felt really grateful and blessed to be hiking up such spiritual place! I made many friends from Brazil, Portugal, and Georgia while hiking up there. I always somehow click with fellow travelers. I had been lonely in Cairo because I couldn't communicate with anyone due to language barriers, but it was really nice to be able to talk and connect with people.

My work at UNFPA

Now, I know more in detail what I am tasked to do at the Arab States Regional Office at UNFPA. I came to Cairo thinking that I would only work on data collection and analysis on Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH), but I was told that the Terms of Reference (this is what the UN calls a job description) was missing one more piece, which is to work with the Youth and HIV team. I was thrilled because I also wanted to work on youth issues.

So here is what I will be doing:

With the Youth and HIV team:

There will be a Regional Youth Forum in Tunisia happening at the end of October or beginning of November where about 200 youths from the Arab region will be attending. The forum will cover many areas such as youth, peace, and security, …, and Samir, my supervisor suggested me to take over a session and prepare a plan. Since I am interested in data, he suggested taking over the Innovation and Artificial Intelligence session which will cover how AI and Innovation can advance youth issues. I was really excited because this is something I have always wanted to do. I am very much interested in how technology and innovation can make public sector especially humanitarian sector more efficient and innovative. So, I will be tackling this. I have a direction of the session I have brainstormed. I will reveal it once my supervisor approves it!

With the SRH team:

There are a couple of work that I am doing. I am first collecting data on all maternal health and sexual reproductive health. I will be compiling country profiles of Arab States where it will include data on indicators related to the two topics. It’s going to be a lot of excel work! Then, I will be doing research to publish an article on a topic of my choice. I told Shible, my supervisor that I am interested in SRH in humanitarian context, and he was fine with that because he also does some work in humanitarian sector. Recently, I have been doing some research on Maternal Death Surveillance and Response (MDSR), which is basically recording data on indicators related to maternal death. Countries use this system to be able to analyze and reduce maternal mortality.

This sounds like a lot of work, but very interesting work. I don’t come from public health background so there is going to be a big learning curve, but everything is very interesting. The work here is definitely substantial and I feel that I will be learning a lot for the next two months.

Introduction

I am a graduate student at the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) at Columbia University. I am majoring in Economic and Political Development and I am focusing my studies on quantitative analysis, gender, and humanitarian/ conflict. In the summer, I will be working at UNFPA Arab States Regional Office (ASRO). This internship is fully funded by the UnitedNations Association – New York Chapter. I am very grateful for this opportunity. My work involves the use of data, artificial intelligence, and innovation in sexual reproductive health, youth, and HIV.

The first week

Flight – Paris to Cairo

I arrived in Cairo on Monday (May 28). Before arriving in Cairo, I had a layover in Paris. The flight arrived at 8 a.m. and was to depart for Cairo at 4 p.m. So I left my luggage in the airport and headed straight to Paris. I didn’t know the train ticket (RER) cost so much! One way was 10 euros. I was hesitant whether I should see Paris or not because I wasn’t sure how long it would take to go and get back, but I took the risk because it’s been 7 years since I last came!! It was so worth it because I got to walk in the beautiful streets along la Seine river and tasted homemade baked apple pie and crepe. This was my lunch!

When I went back to the airport to my gate, I noticed the Egyptians waiting and they were all dressed in long sleeves, so I took my cardigan out and wore it to show respect. I was still in Paris, but I felt like my trip in Cairo had already begun. After another 6 – 8 hours (?) of flight, I finally arrived in Cairo! When I arrived, I was greeted by Osama, a UNFPA driver. As soon as I got off the plane, Osama had a paper with my name and UNFPA logo on it. I felt like a VIP. Haha Then, he kept asking me where is your UN passport or UN identity card. And, I said I am only an intern, but I have a Canadian passport and I need to get a visa! He then took me to a bank in the airport, and I said, I need a visa, I don’t need to go to the bank. But apparently, it’s the banks that issue visa here. That was very interesting and mind blowing for me. I paid $25 and I got a visa sticker. A visa from the New York Consulate would have cost me $75 and 5 business days to process. So, I highly recommend people to get a visa on arrival! Then, Osama bypassed all the lines and also took me to the diplomat line because he is known there. So, thanks to Osama, my transition from the airport to the hotel was very smooth and quick!

UNFPA

The next day (Tuesday, May 29), I went to the UNFPA office and was taken to every room by Sylvia to be introduced to every person there. Everyone is super nice and sweet and was very welcoming! I also met Samir, who is going to be my new supervisor for the HIV and Youth project. He is also super nice. He took me to the mall close to UNFPA to get me a sim card for my phone. On Wednesday, I also met Shible, my another supervisor with whom I will work on Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH) projects. He is also super nice! I have always been lucky with getting nice supervisors, and my luck has not disappointed me yet. I hope it stays the same (knock on wood). I found out that I will be working for both SRH and Youth/HIV teams. I came to Cairo thinking that I would only work on SRH, but I was very glad to find out that I will also be working on youth and HIV. They will give me a variety of knowledge and skills. I will be working on the topic of Artificial Intelligence/data in these two fields. I am so excited because this is what I have been wanting to do. I will explain later more in detail about the projects I will be working on when I learn more about them. I also joined an Arabic class at UNFPA. I am learning it with 4 other staff here.

Housing

My main worry before flying to Cairo was housing. I could not find housing. I did not do the search until the week before, and I am not surprised that I could not find housing before I left. So, the day before the flight, I booked a hotel for a week so that I could search a home. Luckily, I found one yesterday! It was very interesting how I found it. A colleague from my work introduced me to a Korean friend of his, and I cold messaged her. Then, I found out that she was also looking for a place. Then, she suggested me a room she was considering, and that is the place I decided to go for. It doesn’t have AC or wireless internet but the location is nice and the two Mexican roommates are very friendly. The main roommate promised to get internet so I hope we get that soon. I have looked at four different places, and I finally found a place. I was quite stressed with having neither housing nor visa before coming to Cairo, but everything worked out fine.

My impression of Cairo

Before coming to Egypt, many people have warned me that people are aggressive and that I should be careful. But I feel so safe here!!! I went to the Museum of Egypt and walked around a neighborhood by the Tahrir Square by myself. I felt really safe. People greeted me randomly with “Welcome!”. People seem very friendly and gentle here from my perspective. Maybe it’s because it’s Ramadan? I don’t know. I guess I will have to see if people’s attitude changes after. But so far so good.

Serendipity

So, my colleague from UNFPA introduced me to a Korean friend, and while we chatted on Kakaotalk, she invited me to her place for dinner. Then, I gladly accepted. She lives with two other people. One of them is a musician. He and the Korean friend started playing guitar and singing a song called “Yattara Faker”. Then, I sang along with them and felt really relaxed. I like these spontaneous events when you never know who and what can lead you to new friendships whether that’s temporary or long lasting. We shall see!

I will update you more later!