Notes From the Field

Notes From the Field covers stories about the activities and experiences of the COVID-19 epidemic from around the world and in places that are not always prominent in the news. The virus arrived early to many places in Asia and is arriving last in South America and Africa. These places have government and health care structures, as well as experiences in neighborhoods and on streets, that are both similar and different from that experienced in the United States. Tulane faculty and staff conduct the video interviews of faculty, alumni, public officials, community workers, and friends. From time to time messages submitted from students, faculty, and alumni studying and working abroad will also be included.

June 11, 2020

Alumna Graciela R. Meza Sánchez, MD, MPH, PhD (c), Associate Professor in the School of Medicine at the National University of the Peruvian Amazon, discusses challenges faced by Peruvian healthcare workers in the Amazon region of Loreto. Recorded on April 27, 2020, Dr. Meza shares insight into the shortage of medical supplies, personal protective equipment and caring for sick medical personnel on the front lines of the pandemic. Watch the video here.

This video is in Spanish. There are English subtitles for our English language audience.


June 5, 2020

Maggie Janes-Lucas, 2003 Tulane alumna with an MPH in international health, is the Chief of Party for the Sahel Collaboration and Communication Project in Niger and Burkina Faso. Here she talks with Dr. Richard Oberhelman from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine about the response to COVID-19 in Niger. The discussion covers Niger’s healthcare system, governmental actions, the country’s demographics, misconceptions about the virus, and more. Watch the video here.


May 30, 2020 | Dr. Ousmane Koita

Dr. Ousmane Koita, PhD , is a Tulane SPHTM alumnus and researcher at the Laboratory of Applied Molecular Biology (LBMA), Science and Technologies Faculty (FST), and University of Science Techniques and Technologies of Bamako (USTTB). Dr. Koita is one of Mali’s leaders in COVID-19 testing, and here discusses Mali’s pandemic response with Clint Welty, MPH, from Tulane SPHTM. Watch the video here.


May 26, 2020 | Dr. Ligia Kerr

In this video Dr. Ligia Kerr, professor in the medical school at Universidade Federal do Ceará
in Fortaleza, Brazil speaks with Dr. Carl Kendall, professor at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. Dr. Ligia discusses her work in the response to COVID-19 in Brazil. Watch the video here.


May 12, 2020 | Dr. Seydou Doumbia

In this video Dr. Seydou Doumbia, is the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Odontostomatology & Director of University Clinical Research Center (UCRC), University of Sciences, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako (USTTB) in Bamako, Mali, discusses his role in Mali’s COVID response with James Clint Welty, MPH, from Tulane SPHTM. Seydou is a 2002 alumnus of Tulane SPHTM. Watch the video here.


May 4, 2020 | Dr. Edsel Salvana

Department of Tropical Medicine Chair Ron Blanton interviews Dr. Edsel Salvana, Director of the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology at the National Institutes of Health at the University of the Philippines Manila. Salvana is also a Clinical Associate Professor and Research Coordinator at the Section of Infectious Diseases of the Department of Medicine at the Philippine General Hospital. Zooming between Manila and New Orleans, the conversation covers a variety of topics, from the timeline of COVID cases in the Philippines and government’s response, contact tracing, COVID testing, and much more. Watch it here.


April 28, 2020 | Dr. Rashid Aman

In this video, Dr. Rashid Aman, Kenya’s Deputy Secretary of Health, speaks to us about the Kenyan government’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Topics discussed in this video include such early measures as social distancing and a national curfew, contact tracing, and a centralized government approach to preventing the spread of new cases. Watch it here.


April 15, 2020 | Dr. Valerie Paz-Soldan

Valerie A. Paz-Soldan, PhD, MPH, is an associate professor at Tulane’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and the director of the Tulane Health Office for Latin America. Here Dr. Paz-Soldan discusses the Peruvian government’s quick action to COVID-19 and her role in the response. Watch the conversation here.