Fouzia Bano

“I’ve always had creative tendencies,” says Fouzia Bano. “I began writing as an adolescent, became a published author as a teenager and have been integrating my passion into my work ever since.”

Fouzia had been a sensitive child and was conscious of class differences even before she knew what they were. Today she sees a diverse workforce as integral to WHO’s programmes because it exposes us to each other’s rich cultural context and allows us to learn from each other. She doesn’t see a single ideal to aspire towards because each person brings something unique to the table.

Fouzia grew up in Pakistan, and after completing a degree in communications she worked in that field in private industry. She became interested in public health during a dengue outbreak when she noticed government messaging. She had had a bad case of dengue a few years earlier, which had changed her outlook and attitude on her own life choices. She had gained a skill for powerful messaging during her work in advertising agencies and quickly learned how to grab the public’s attention in news production jobs. With that experience, she felt she could put it to good use for WHO. Fouzia initially worked as a communications consultant for the country and provincial offices in Pakistan on a successful measles eradication campaign and on a dengue awareness campaign about water pools and mosquito transmission. For this, she went from school to school to engage the students and provide communications materials and felt rewarded by the experience, particularly due to her own painful memories of dengue.

“As I grew older,” she explains, “I became more and more interested in dedicating my career to those in need. I wanted to use my skills and experience to amplify their voices. I also had a brush with cancer and felt privileged to have access to treatment. That changed everything for me and I decided I want to commit my life to making a difference through public health. This is how I want to give back.”

Fouzia then applied for a temporary post as a Communications Officer in Mogadishu, Somalia, supporting a cholera vaccination campaign. She embraced the culture shock and braved the hospitals to record difficult and telling stories. It was challenging to be in such a fragile security situation, but her work proved to be the motivation she needed.

Today, Fouzia has an enormous image library that bears witness to her numerous ventures into communities, clinics and projects. She often reports on them for the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Regional office website. She explains that communications as a field is integral to WHO’s work because it serves to provide and disseminate evidenced based messaging and supports governments developing and launching awareness and health campaigns.

She relishes in managing social media and loves conceptualizing strategies, storyboarding, developing videos and picking editors’ brains for the best ideas. Fouzia is happy to brave 50º Celsius to capture images in the field, covered from head to toe and in a bulletproof vest, and that resilience gives her the chance to interact with the communities she serves.