Kate McAvoy, ECOSOC Representative

Kate McAvoy is a Pathways To Peace ECOSOC Representative who utilizes her array of skills to promote the organization’s Culture of Peace Initiative. Currently, she is working with “Medical Teams International” on capacity building projects in Uganda and Bangladesh. In Uganda, Ms. McAvoy has worked in the Nakivale Refugee Settlement (located near Mbarara), the Nykabande Transit Center (in Kisoro), Nyumanzi (located near Adjumani) and Belemeling (located in Moyo). Whilst at the Nakivale Refugee Settlement, Kate focused on continuing medical education lectures as well as inpatient ward improvement projects that were geared towards increasing quality care amongst the national and refugee population. Ms. McAvoy’s work at the Nykabande Transit Center also focused on continuing medical education lectures. There, she further provided Ebola crisis briefings and extensive sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) sensitivity trainings, with multiple partners. Furthermore, she facilitated the improvement in care for SGBV survivors and long-term care recommendations. Her work in Nyumanzi and Belemeling included the continuation of medical education lectures, triage improvement projects to progress patient flow throughout the clinic and to empower local staff to provide quality care. Ms. McAvoy also developed inpatient ward improvement projects in these areas.

In Bangladesh, Kate has been working on capacity building in the Rohinghya health clinics. She has been collaborating with local staff in order to create a system that offers the Rohingya easily accessible healthcare, treatment and medication. Currently, she is working on pharmacy and stock improvement projects to increase access to needed medications. Ms. McAvoy is planning to obtain her Ph.D. with a focus on adolescent migrants and ideally, how youth leadership can improve the lives of adolescent migrants. Her overall focus is on global health, human rights and law.