University of Sydney - Faculties of Health - Student Profile - Dr. William Maina
Student program: Master of International Public Health
Country of origin: Kenya
“There is an HIV/AIDS pandemic in Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Kenyan Government is serious about dealing with it. But what we need is the skills to do so,” says William Maina.
A Kenyan doctor, William began his career in the clinical field, working one-on-one with patients. He soon became interested in tackling these diseases more comprehensively, and for about five years now has devoted himself to public health.
William came to the University of Sydney with the help of an AusAID scholarship. The flexibility of the course program meant he could choose a number of electives on the control of communicable diseases such as AIDS, malaria and bilharzia.
He hopes to use this knowledge in his public health work in Kenya, and thinks that in the future he may also be able to work for agencies such as UNICEF, taking the public health battle to an international level.