Student Profile: Abinethaa Paramasivam

Abinethaa Paramasivam, BsC, is an MSPH candidate in the Health Systems program whose work focuses on responding to humanitarian emergencies and improving health systems through inclusive policy and program development that prioritize the needs of the most underserved communities in society.

While here at the Bloomberg School, Abinethaa has held several research positions in the Department of International Health and other public health organizations. She is a Global Health Established Field Placement awardee, where she supports a qualitative study focusing on the challenges of preventing mother to child transmission of HIV in Mozambique. Additionally, Abinethaa assisted with research and evaluation activities for the Ifaa project, a USAID-funded food security and resilience project in Oromia, Ethiopia. She continues this work as an intern at Catholic Relief Services in Ethiopia where she provides both technical and programmatic support.

Abinethaa has been awarded various awards and scholarships during her time at Johns Hopkins. She was most recently awarded the Eckert-Fazen Grant that helps fund her work with the WHO focused on addressing human resources for health issues within low- and middle-income countries. In recognition of her commitment to improving humanitarian response globally, she received the 2023 Humanitarian Assistance Scholarship from the Department of International Health.

Previously, Abinethaa worked as a Program Analyst with the Ontario Ministry of Health in Canada where she led the Indigenous Midwifery Program and helped increase access to culturally safe midwifery services for Indigenous families living in urban, rural, and First Nations areas, including fly-in communities. Additionally, Abinethaa has contributed to scientific research in the field of deafblindness, including leading a systematic review with an international team of researchers to develop a Core Set for deafblindness for the WHO's International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) Research Branch.

Abinethaa is looking forward to continuing her work on programmatic and policy changes that will support the development of equitable health systems for communities around the world. She notes that the abundance of opportunities available to her while here at the Bloomberg School have helped to achieve her goals. “Since my time here at the School, I have had the privilege of working with leaders in the field of global health and contributing to their research, while having the opportunity to travel to these countries to support the work. I have been challenged to think critically and been exposed to new learning experiences, both in and outside the classroom, I am grateful for both the experiences I have had with my fellow students and support of the faculty.”