Soha first gained experience of healthcare in low-resource settings when she spent six weeks on an elective medical placement in Tanzania. Whilst in Tanzania, she was struck by the levels of inequality which contributed to countless unnecessary maternal deaths. After completing two years of training in obstetrics and gynaecology, Soha approached Ammalife to gain further experience of work in low-income settings. With our support, Soha travelled to Malawi and worked at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Blantyre. Here she helped to establish a training programme for healthcare workers as well as facilitating training days at local health centres. With the collaboration of paediatric volunteers from the UK, Soha’s course expanded to include neonatal resuscitation. It also had the result of re-establishing neonatal mortality reviews to improve survival rates.
Upon her return, Ammalife offered to support Soha with her doctoral studies with a focus on maternal health challenges connected to anaesthesia. Upon completion of her PhD, Soha secured an academic lectureship at Barts and the London Medical School. She continues to conduct research and to disseminate her findings, in order to contribute to future policy in maternal health and to make a difference to women around the world.
Soha contributed to several publications during her time as an Ammalife Change Maker. You can read these papers and others in our Learning Hub here.
Above and Below: Ammalife Change Maker Dr Soha Sobhy at work in the hospital in Malawi.
