I am currently working as a specialist on the Vaccine-Preventable Diseases and Immunization (VDI) at the WHO country office in Vietnam, thanks to the GO WHO-KDCA Fellowship Programme.
I provide technical support in the prevention and control of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases (VPDs), including measles and polio, as well as immunization-related activities for the Vietnam Administration of Disease Prevention (VADP). To be specific, my role is to translate WHO’s global norms and guidelines into adaptable and practical national policies tailored to Vietnam’s health system and local context.

I am currently working for Health Emergency Programme (WHE) at the WHO country office in the Philippines. My work focuses on supporting infectious disease surveillance and public health emergency preparedness and response, collaborating with various technical teams across the WHO country office.

I am working as an Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) coordinator at the WHO country office in Mongolia, supporting the national AMR response system.
My duty involves coordinating meetings, field visits, trainings, and technical consultations related to the development and implementation of the National AMR Action Plan, improvement of AMR surveillance, Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS), and AMR response capacity.
Through this work, I bridge collaborations among the Mongolia Ministry of Health and other government agencies, healthcare facilities, international partners, and external experts to help align efforts toward shared national priorities.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, I became increasingly interested in vaccine equity. I came to realize that vaccines, often taken for granted as products of science, require a multifaceted understanding of political economy, sociocultural dynamics, and health systems for effective vaccination.
While working with the National Immunization Program team at Ministry of Health of Cambodia, I had the opportunity to collaborate closely with colleagues from various international organizations. Through that experience, I became drawn to WHO’s role in catalyzing long-term institutional change in countries, beyond short-term assistance.
The reason why I applied to the GO Fellowship Programme is that I wanted to build the expertise needed to adapt global norms into practical policies and systems at the country level.

While working in a government agency on infectious disease preparedness and response, I became interested in how international organizations such as WHO support countries and institutions during public health emergencies.
In particular, I wanted to experience firsthand how technical support and coordination are delivered at the country office level, taking into account each country’s public health priorities and context.

My early career was mainly focused on project development, implementation, and management in the field of primary health care. Over time, the experience led me to look beyond individual projects and become more interested in how national health systems respond to public health threats. Now, while working on a global health security project in Ghana, I have become deeply interested in how national infectious disease response systems are built.
Beyond project management, I wanted to better understand how the core elements of health security are technically implemented and supported in the field. To strengthen my relevant technical capabilities, I applied to the WHO country office in Mongolia.

I provide technical support to strengthen the Vietnam’s Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) and support the prevention and control of VPDs. Vietnam has established domestic vaccine production capacity and, in 2020, transitioned away from Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (Gavi) support, positioning itself on a trajectory toward middle-income status with growing self-reliance in immunization. Nevertheless, VPD outbreaks such as measles continue to occur periodically, requiring detailed and context-specific support.
I also support to optimize the vaccine portfolio and introduce new vaccines to ensure the expansion and sustainability of the EPI. Much of the work in the field involves policy and legal support. I also contribute to strengthen and institutionalize the national immunization advisory committee. In March, I supported the review for the EPI involving more than 50 experts from 15 national and international organizations, including partners from Australia and Japan. During this program, I can experience from the central government level to rural health centers, acquiring a valuable opportunity to engage directly with the field.

I have been working on event-based surveillance and analysis of infectious disease and other public health events in the Philippines, while collaborating with multiple technical teams in the country office on rabies elimination efforts and related surveillance activities.
In addition, I support workshops and technical meetings related to infectious disease and public health emergency preparedness and response. At the WHO country office, different public health teams work closely together across a wide range of areas. This has allowed me to view infectious disease response from multiple perspectives and to gain broader exposure to the roles and linkages among different technical areas that I had not previously encountered in depth.

In Mongolia, I support the strengthening of the national AMR response system. This involves several technical areas that are being advanced in parallel, including the development of the National AMR Action Plan, AMR surveillance, AMR-related outbreak response, monitoring on Antimicrobial Consumption (AMC) and AMS, and the prevention and control measures relevant to AMR.
As an AMR coordinator, I facilitate meetings, field visits, health facility assessments, trainings, technical consultations, and partner engagement so that the Ministry of Health, hospitals, the medicines regulatory authority, international partners, and external experts can move in the same direction.
In the field, policy discussions, facility-level assessments, trainings, technical advice, and partner consultations often take place simultaneously. This has shown me that coordination is essential to connect these activities as part of one national AMR response system.

The most rewarding moments come when I see the activities I support being appreciated by local communities. Recently, I visited a local health center to monitor an initiative integrating immunization with primary health care. I saw a child receiving vaccination while the grandparents sitting beside the child were receiving chronic disease screening, such as blood pressure checks. Seeing their smiles made me grateful to be contributing, even in a small way.
At the same time, there are many challenges. Unlike in Korea, Vietnam’s immunization data are not linked to national identification numbers or resident registration numbers. Especially, there are children who may not appear in electronic immunization registries due to high population mobility and delayed birth registration, particularly home births, ethnic minorities, internal migrants, or informal residents. As a result, it can be difficult to track zero-dose children or confirm whether they have received essential vaccinations, leaving them more vulnerable to various infectious diseases.
Still, patiently working through these complex and interconnected field challenges is also one of the most meaningful parts of the work.

It has been meaningful to see up close how infectious disease preparedness and response in the international public health settings can vary depending on the country and local context. In the field, it took time to clarify my initial role and scope of work, and it was not always easy to align expectations with actual field needs and adjust the direction of my work accordingly.
However, the experience has helped me understand that even for the same diseases, the required approach may differ depending on the country’s health system, available resources, and public health priorities.

What I found most rewarding is seeing how discussions among different institutions are translated into national plans and field-level activities. Even when data are limited or institutional priorities differ, I learn a great deal from the process of jointly defining problems and identifying feasible next steps.
One of the challenges is that AMR is both highly technical and inherently multisectoral. It is not always easy to balance technical accuracy, practical feasibility, and administrative procedures among the Ministry of Health, other government agencies, health facilities, and international organizations. At the same time, this makes the learning curve in the field very steep and the opportunities for growth even greater.
I feel especially rewarded when small coordination efforts lead to concrete outputs, such as trainings, guidelines, or field visits.

I hope future fellows will join the fellowship programme as an opportunity to learn from the field while engaging with colleagues and experts. Understanding field dynamics is also important. I hope the fellowship will provide an opportunity to communicate closely with government counterparts who have different cultures and languages, to coordinate diverse interests, and to experience how global health goals are translated into action within local contexts.

The working environment can be much more diverse and fluid than expected. It is important to build on your own expertise, but also to remain flexible and adjust your role as the environment changes.

Regardless of the organization or role you are in, I would encourage future fellows to gain as much direct field experience as possible. Even with strong technical knowledge and professional skills, it is difficult to develop effective policy documents, guidelines, or programs without a sufficient understanding of the realities and needs on the ground.
Seeing the field firsthand, meeting people, and understanding real-world constraints provide the foundation for developing outputs that are more practical, relevant, and implementable.