Student Perspectives: Department of Health Policy and Management
Turning Advocacy in to Sustainable Action for Women’s Health
Fatima Maada Bio
MHA Student, Health Policy and Management
As the First Lady of Sierra Leone and the president of Organization of African First Ladies for Development on our continent, my focus on the health and well-being of women and girls is deeply personal because I have witnessed, firsthand, how often their pain is minimized, their conditions misdiagnosed, and their voices unheard. Across many communities, women’s health — particularly uterine and hormonal health — remains neglected, under-researched, and burdened by stigma. Conditions such as fibroids, endometriosis, menstrual disorders, and reproductive cancers are too often endured in silence, treated as “normal,” or addressed only when they become life-threatening.
My commitment is to bring these realities into the light by sharing firsthand accounts, elevating lived experiences, and advocating for evidence-based solutions that integrate uterine health into primary healthcare systems. We cannot achieve equity in health if we ignore the very organs that define so much of a woman’s physical, emotional, and reproductive life.
My time at UCLA Fielding is equipping me with the intellectual tools, analytical rigor, and global perspective needed to confront these challenges strategically. It is empowering me not only to speak with passion, but with data, policy insight, and systems-level understanding. UCLA is strengthening my capacity to transform advocacy into sustainable action and to help shape a world where women’s health is no longer an afterthought, but a priority
Advancing Health Equity Through Patient Care and Policy
Martin Kyalwazi
MD/PhD Student, Health Policy and Management
The root of my interest in health policy and health economics stemmed from my desire to understand the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). As a middle school student in Sacramento during its enactment, and a high school student during its implementation, I was captivated by the law’s politicization, legal battles, and financial ramifications for various healthcare stakeholders. Though my siblings and I were covered by California’s Medicaid/ Children’s Health Insurance Program prior to the ACA, my parents and many others in Sacramento’s Black and immigrant communities gained coverage only through the law’s Medicaid expansion. The knowledge that access to healthcare for my family and other low-income households was at stake drove me to seek information supporting the ACA’s preservation. As my analysis matured with age, I learned how to evaluate evidence pertaining to the law and utilize it to inform my viewpoint, rather than the converse.
My doctoral training in Health Policy and Management, combined with my medical training through the MD/ PhD program, has equipped me with a strong foundation in health policy and economics, as well as the methodological tools necessary to generate rigorous, policy-relevant evidence. I am committed to using my education to advance health equity, both in direct patient care and in the design of health policy.
Designing and Implementing Policies to Reduce Barriers to Care
Divya Bharadwaj
MPH Student, Health Policy and Management
I grew up hearing about healthcare disparities rooted in insurance, whether it involved the level of care sought out (urgent vs. primary care) or the quality of the services received. I found this to be an interesting phenomenon to explore while working toward my BA in Public Policy. I gravitated toward public health as a space where I could create systems-level changes while remaining in the healthcare field. I found myself continually drawn to public health as a vehicle for ensuring that policy decisions are grounded in evidence and accessible to the communities they affect.
Through my MPH program, I am gaining the skills to design and implement programs that reduce barriers to care and improve health outcomes. Using this knowledge, I look forward to joining a health system and working on the delivery and implementation of healthcare to make sure that individuals are getting access to the services they need, at a price they can afford. The UCLA Fielding School of Public Health is developing my ability to understand policy, but also how to integrate it in order to ensure success. I’m excited to take these skills into the workforce and positively impact patients.