Portrait :Tomoko Yatsu, Fourth-year student, Faculty of Nursing and Medical Care

Tomoko’s starting point was wondering how she could contribute to a global society. After graduating from the State University of New York at Geneseo with her bachelor’s degree in International Relations and working as an intern at JICA Ghana office, Tomoko joined General Electric Japan. She also proactively participated in volunteer activities at the same time. Believing that health is the most important human right to be attained even in places where there is a shortage of health workers and where there is limited access to adequate medical equipment, such as in developing countries, she entered the Faculty of Nursing and Medical Care from the second-year level and now studies Global Health. She was involved in health check-ups at a local elementary school in DR Congo, and visited Palestine for her graduation thesis to conduct awareness surveys on highly educated women who work in Palestine’s Arab society. “Whether it be in Japan or in developing countries, managing work both at home and outside the home is not easy. In the future, I want to deepen my understanding of how women can stay healthy and obtain more opportunities to participate in socio-economic activities, especially in developing countries,” she says.