upFRONT spring 07.FINAL.rev - University of Pennsylvania School ...

care to change the world
From Penn Nursing to Africa
Two years ago, Kelly Delaney, Nu ’03, was
navigating the streets of New York City with
the cacophony of taxicabs, pedestrians,
messengers, and vending carts in the midst
of the world’s hub for communications,
publishing, television, and advertising.
This year, she is in the Sudan with no phone,
no internet access, no mail. But her path from
Penn to New York to Africa has changed her
worldview. As a member of Action Against
Hunger (AAH), she runs emergency feeding
programs for children under five years old and
community-based health and hygiene
education programs in Kenya and the Sudan.
Ms. Delaney, a Hillman Scholars Program
alumna, worked at New York’s Memorial
Sloan Kettering Cancer Center after
graduation to fulfill the Hillman program’s
service requirements, but learned about
herself in the process.
“As my Hillman requirement came to an end,
I decided that I wanted to combine my love
for travel with my experiences working in the
West Philadelphia community as an
undergrad,” she says. “I looked for
international aid positions and found AAH.
I liked their approach to emergency relief –
emergency response followed by development
work to address the root causes of the
emergency. I applied for a nurse/nutrition
position, and in September 2005, I found
myself in Mandera, Kenya, a small town on
the border of Ethiopia and Somalia.”
AAH operates in more than 40 countries
under emergency circumstances such as war,
conflict, and natural disasters and then
develops longer-term assistance programs for
people in distress. The conditions Ms.
Delaney faces in Africa are extreme. In 2005,
Kenya – a country with more than 34 million
inhabitants – had an infant mortality rate of
79 per 1,000 live births and an average life
expectancy of 48 years, according to UNICEF.
AAH reports the malnutrition rate in
northeastern Kenya is 23 percent. Drought,
poor land conditions, loss of herds, and tribal
fighting have contributed to an increase in the
number of refugees.
(continued)
school of nursing
redesignated by
who ⁄ paho
The School of Nursing was redesignated
as a World Health Organization/Pan
American Health Organization
(WHO/PAHO) Collaborating Center for
Nursing and Midwifery Leadership,
through 2010, announced Afaf I. Meleis,
PhD, DrPS(hon), FAAN, FRCN, the
Margaret Bond Simon Dean of Nursing.
Dean Meleis will continue to serve as
Director of the Collaborating Center.
Assistant Dean for Global Health Affairs
Marjorie Muecke, PhD, RN, FAAN, will
serve as the Center’s Associate Director.
under the new
terms of reference,
the school will:
• Promote the growth and stability of
nursing human resources to improve
the quality of care and delivery of
nursing health services management.
• Lead the development and
implementation of essential nursing
and midwifery competencies to reduce
maternal/neonatal mortality and
morbidity and to promote the health
and well-being of women.
Kelly Delaney, Nu ’03, attends to a child in Mandera, Kenya.
• Build capacity of healthcare workers
and community leaders to design,
train, modify, translate, and
implement culturally relevant,
developmentally appropriate,
evidence-based HIV risk reduction and
health promotion programs.
“We feel that these Terms of Reference
capture the expertise and interest of the
greatest number of our faculty and look
forward to the activities and involvement
of all in our international mission,” says
Dean Meleis.
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