A Letter to Me — If I Were Starting a Career in Global Health Today
By Luchuo Engelbert Bain , MD, PhD
Dear Me,
You are entering global health at a time of deep contradiction. The architecture is crowded, fragmented, and under strain. Graduate programmes in global public health are multiplying faster than the system can absorb talent.
1. Credentials alone will no longer protect you. Jobs are fewer, contracts are shorter, and certainty is a luxury. This is not a reason to panic—but a reason to think deeply.
2. Before you rush to publish, pause. Spend time thinking. Quality will always outlive quantity. But don’t disappear either—be present, be visible, be intentional.
3. Learn to write with clarity, speak with purpose, and choose substance over noise.
4. Accept this early: you can no longer work in global health without AI literacy and entrepreneurial thinking. They are not optional extras; they are survival skills. Standing out will not come from titles or speed. It will come from impact—real, community-centred, accountable impact. Not performative outputs, but work grounded in lived realities.
5. Learn the politics behind the data. Health is never just technical; it is shaped by power, incentives, history, and ideology. Many learn this too late: real impact only comes when you understand, accept, and integrate the fact that progress in global health is driven by good politics and good diplomacy. Evidence alone rarely moves systems. Decisions are negotiated, interests balanced, narratives framed, and trust built over time.
Do not miss any opportunity to strengthen your political and diplomatic acumen. These skills will determine whether your ideas travel, your evidence is used, and your work changes lives.
6. Celebrate small wins. Let others’ success inspire you, not drain you. Identify your niche, your unfair advantage, and play the long game. Invest early—time, humility, sacrifice—so you can earn later with integrity. Protect your mental health; it is critical.
7. Remember this: attitude eats aptitude for breakfast. Your attitude is your loudest CV and your greatest competitive advantage. Your name will be mentioned in rooms you may never enter—because someone is always watching, and human memory for good is long.
8. Find mentors early. Learn from their mistakes as much as their successes. Mentor others even earlier—giving back is not reserved for seniority. Be patient. This field is nonlinear. Progress is uneven. Continuous learning is non-negotiable. Be your own competition.
9. Be intentional about being a good mentee in global health. Show humility and curiosity. Prepare thoughtfully. Listen more than you speak. Act on feedback. Respect your mentor’s time. Demonstrate integrity, reliability, and a genuine commitment to learning, service, and impact.
Global health, as currently structured, is no longer fit for purpose in a world defined by complexity, uncertainty, and shifting power. Yet this moment of strain is also a moment of possibility. The future will not belong to those who merely comply with inherited systems, but to those willing to rethink, rebuild, and lead differently. The task ahead is not to survive global health as it is, but to reimagine global health otherwise—with courage, political intelligence, ethical grounding, and an unwavering commitment to people, equity, and real-world impact.
