Sarah Dalglish

Sarah Dalglish is captivated by the stark beauty and hard life in Niger where poverty, food insecurity and climate change contribute to this West African nation’s near-bottom ranking on the UN Development Index, a measure of indicators of well-being. The country is endowed with a rich cultural and social fabric that holds special meaning for Dalglish, who draws inspiration from its enduring “generosity, fellow feeling and creativity.” She is working now on an analysis of a community-level program to treat Niger’s most common causes of child mortality: malaria, diarrhea, pneumonia and malnutrition. Community case management is “a must,” says Dalglish, given that Niger’s fertility rate is the world’s highest and most of the population lives in rural areas with limited, if any, access to health care. “There are political and economic considerations, as well as competing priorities, not to mention personal and political factors that affect which policies get chosen and how they are implemented,” Dalglish says.