Graduate / I became interested in Public Health after participating in the NURHI project [5]

Please every member's input in evaluating this SOP will be appreciated.

Statement of Purpose for Master of Public Health.

I became interested in Public Health after participating in the NURHI project on the "Evaluation of the Use of Modern Contraceptives among Urban Indigent in Nigeria". The project which got its funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation.

The project allowed me to see firsthand how my fellow Nigerians were struggling with livelihood and how economic status affects their reproductive health decisions. Having lived my whole life in an urban-poor environment myself, I never realized how most of our life decisions were actually based on our economic condition as we have been accustomed to believe that is the society norms. The project brought me to the consciousness that all those decisions also have their health implications which in turn affects our quality of life. Other problems like overcrowding and poor environmental sanitation tend to increase our risks to respiratory, viral and skin diseases. Also being mindful that unaffordability of nutritious foods contributes to increase risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and other cancers. Lastly, an increased incidence of teenage pregnancy, Sexually Transmitted Infections and HIV related complications, due to early sexual activities without an adequate sex education has been left unattended to. All of the aforementioned are our brawls in the shantytown, and it is often assumed that urban populations have better health care than those living in rural areas but that does not make them accessible to the urban-poor.

With a Bachelor's degree in Statistics, I believe I'm in good standing for a master's degree in Public Health. I received a very strong and rigorous training in Mathematical courses like Calculus and Linear Algebra; also in Statistical courses not limited to Probability Theory, Introduction to Biostatistics. Also took a general course on "Reproductive Health and Sexually Transmitted Infections" which exposed me to knowledge on prevention and care of Sexually Transmitted Infections and the effective usage of anti-retroviral drugs by HIV patients.

Asides my academic achievements during my Undergraduate studies at the University of Ibadan, I was part of Dr K.O. Obisesan's consulting team involved in Data Collection, Development of Database System and analysis of collected data for the Federal Ministry of Water Resources/World Bank project on water supply and sanitation. With my extra-academic engagements from varying angles I cannot put to writing here, I am confident that my data collection, collation and analysis skills will be a great tool to aid my successful completion of this program.

I have decided to study at the University xxx due to the intensive education the school offers, its highly ranked research and community oriented public health program and renowned professors with cutting edge researches which I believe will give me a lot of edge and also make me competitive. I am certain that at the end of this program I would have acquired more understanding of community health, health policy evaluation and implementation and also gain work ethics and professionalism needed to perform effectively as a Monitoring and Evaluation Officer.

My short term goal is to work as a Monitoring and Evaluation Officer with organizations focusing on primary health care, reproductive and family health to ensure availability and accessibility of public health infrastructure to residents of low income area in urban settlement. I would also like to establish an initiative to educate and enlighten dwellers of this area about the health implications of their day to day choices and how their individual actions contribute to the general health of the community. In the long term, a career in academia is a possibility after the completion of my PhD program which I intend to commence afterwards gaining some work experience in the field of Public Health.

Thank you very much for considering my application.