Global Health alumna Annlaug applies her experience to Covid-19 communication

Annlaug Selstø, a Master's in Global Health alumna from Karolinska Institutet (KI), has applied her knowledge and experience to Covid-19 communication. After working as a nurse and completing missions with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), she wanted to add a global aspect to her expertise and decided to pursue the Global Health Master's program at KI. The program provided her with the desired knowledge to see healthcare from a global perspective.

During her studies, Annlaug conducted her thesis project in Malawi, focusing on child mortality and the hospital referral system in a rural area. After graduating in 2020, she applied for various positions but faced challenges due to the pandemic's impact on the job market. However, in the summer of 2020, she received an unexpected phone call from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (Folkehelseinstituttet) to join their Covid contact tracing team. She started working with them, handling contact tracing, outbreak response, surveillance, statistics, and research.

In January 2021, Annlaug became a Senior Advisor for Covid-19 at Folkehelseinstituttet, primarily focusing on adapting communication to different target groups, particularly vulnerable populations. She updates information on the institute's webpage, shares knowledge about Covid-19, and provides pandemic-related updates. Her tasks include participating in virtual meetings, managing statistics, and updating communications on regulations and general advice.

Annlaug is grateful for the opportunity to work at Folkehelseinstituttet and plans to stay there, furthering her knowledge in epidemiology. Eventually, she aims to work abroad again and apply her global health training in different contexts.

Her advice to students is to study hard, utilize the resources at KI, and network effectively. She suggests making a list of preferred institutions or organizations to work for and exploring possibilities for thesis collaboration. Additionally, she encourages students to have fun along the way.