Five students of Great Oaks Career Campuses work to improve immunization rates in Nigeria

It all started when Mason High School and Great Oaks Career Campuses students Sid Varman, Snehil Pulluri, Neev Gupta, Vansh Patel, and Shishir Annamaneni began an internship with an organization called Leadership Initiatives, which recruits American students in public health initiatives in Bauchi State, Nigeria. Participation in the internship program allows the five Great Oaks students to apply what they have learned in the classroom about medical science to a real world issue.

Leadership Initiatives is a nationwide organization that invites teens to tackle challenges in many disciplines. The team from Great Oaks Career Campuses is one of over 100 groups to participate this year, and the only ones that chose to focus on immunizations. The students have been working virtually with a liaison in Nigeria, learning about why the community members are reluctant to get vaccines. The team is finding that in most cases, there is a combination of factors at play, including a distrust of western medicine, religious objections, and a distrust of government. Exposure to these dilemmas are giving insight into how scientific advancement isn't enough in efforts to eradicate diseases through immunization. As project participant Varman shared, "We like that this is a new experience. We've learned biology and chemistry and medicine, but not public health."

At this point, the students are about halfway through their internship time and are brainstorming ideas to overcome cultural barriers and convince at least some residents of Bauchi State to receive TB and measles vaccines. They acknowledge that they don't expect their project to solve the problem, but they still see reasons for hope and will be happy to make even a small impact. "Even having just one or two children inoculated would alter their futures for the better." said Pulluri. The group is working on fundraising as well to promote their public health campaign and have raised around $900 so far.

Along with insights gained into the challenges they are trying to address in Nigeria, the team of students are also seeing parallels with the fight against COVID-19 in the US. The students are seeing that cultural barriers in the US are at work in resistance to pandemic protocols like wearing masks and social distancing, along with skepticism of vaccines. As Varman stated in a release from Great Oaks Career Campuses, "It's eye-opening to realize that developing an effective solution, a medical intervention, is only half the battle. The rest is implementing it and getting the community on board."

Great Oaks instructor Susana Maldonado said of the group, "They are very dedicated and have a huge heart and desire to help others. I am so proud of them for what they have accomplished at such a young age, and I can't wait to see what they will accomplish in their lifetime."