Mathura Mahendren

Mathura has developed a keen interest in the development and functioning of health systems both locally and around the world, and planned to use her term as a Forum Fellow to advance her knowledge of agenda-setting and decision-making related to healthcare. Mathura expected her involvement in the development of evidence briefs and rapid syntheses to inform various levels of stakeholders in healthcare to advance her understanding of health systems, and prepare her for a career in which she hoped to work to bring about meaningful change in health systems.

At the time of the Forum Fellowship, Mathura was in her fourth year of the Bachelor of Health Sciences program, with a specialization in global health. Her interest in health systems in low-income countries was fostered during a semester spent in Mzuzu, Malawi, where she worked with the local non-governmental organization Ungwero, to facilitate discussions among community groups, and helped conduct a survey gauging students’ understanding of HIV transmission and prevention. Mathura also worked on a research project that analyzed post-crisis communications by groups such as the World Health Organization.