Also In This Issue

When Words Fail

The Decade of Vaccines Collaboration

The Art of Making Vaccines More Affordable

Fighting Syphilis and HIV in Women and Children: Lessons from Uganda and Zambia

Vaccines: A Top Priority for Global Health

Vaccination Week in the Americas Goes Global

On the Brink of a Watershed Moment for HIV Vaccine R&D

Reflections of a Lifetime Dedicated to Public Health Advocacy - In Memory of Beth Waters

Women and Girls in a Changing World Photography Contest

Tina Flores

A young girl performs a dance about standing up to violence in her community as part of International Medical Corps' recognition of International Women's Day. Since the earthquake over a year prior, she has lived in a displacement camp in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

The winner of GLOBAL HEALTH Magazine’s photo contest, Women and Girls in a Changing World, is Chessa Latifi a program officer for International Medical Corps in Haiti. Latifi began taking photographs while visiting Kosova after the 1999 war, where much of her extended family lives. She has worked for International Medical Corps in Iraq and now in Haiti, where she oversees an emergency response program that includes four primary health clinics, several dozen water and sanitation projects, and a disaster risk reduction program as well as an emergency medicine development program at the largest hospital in the country.  These pages feature a selection of Latifi’s other work from Haiti.

Q&A with Chessa Latifi

When did you start taking photographs?
My earliest pictures are from visiting Kosova after the war in 1999. At 15 years old, I was intent on documenting the destruction with a 35mm Nikon. I don’t have the negatives anymore, but I have the old prints of rubble, graffiti, bullet holes, and one portrait of my grandmother that I still cherish.

What has finding photography meant to you?
It means I can convince people that these far corners of the world – Haiti or Kurdistan, for example - are not what they believe. These places are oftentimes much more wondrous than expected.

What do you think is special and unique about the winning image?
Much of her dance was listless, just moving through the steps. And then, at the captured moment, she burst out and really expressed herself. It was beautiful.

Any advice for people looking to get into photography?
First, put your camera down and look around. You want to see your surroundings with your eyes first, not your camera lens. Then, pay attention to your composition.

What has been the most moving experience for you in the field?
It was actually the moment captured in the winning photograph. This girl really expressed herself, and it was amazing to be there to witness it, and feel like I had a small part in giving her that platform at International Medical Corps' clinic.

What does photography give to global health? Photographs provide a connection to and awareness of a subject to an audience.
In a world of growing distractions, a photograph is evidence of the true reality of others.