Abigail Binkley is a Spring 2024 recipient of the Srinivasan Family Awards for Projects in Emerging Markets, run by the Center for Emerging Markets at Northeastern University.
Having embarked on her first co-op, Abigail Binkley, a third-year Biology and Global Health student at Northeastern University, has spent the last five months in Baringo County, Kenya leading a research project focused on the complex interplay of biological, sociocultural, and environmental factors that target women's vulnerability to a certain neglected tropical disease (NTD), visceral leishmaniasis (VL).
While Abigail already had a strong zeal for women's health and healthcare equity back on campus, she decided it was time to tackle her curiosities head on by traveling to the actual field. With her extensive background knowledge of VL through class lectures from Professor Richard Wamai and scoping review research, she designed a project catered to not only her personal interests, but to unanswered questions and gaps in vital research matters in Baringo County. Under the guidance of Professor Richard Wamai and in partnership with The Research on Multi-Disease and Educational Services (TERMES) Center led by the African Center for Community Investment in Health (ACCIH), Abigail made this possible.
VL is one of the most severe NTDs, having a 95% fatality rate if left untreated. Transmission by the bite of an infected sandfly leads to enlarged spleen and liver, anemia, severe fevers, and weight loss. This disease is endemic to Kenya, causing 4,000+ cases annually, with women comprising 30% of them. On a global scale, the leishmaniases lead to 40,000 deaths per year, making it a major public health issue. VL, like other NTDs, especially affects women by depriving them of their health and economic potential, inducing stigma, and escalating gender inequality. However, gender-specific risk factors for this disease have yet to be explored.
Abigail's research over the past five months has delved into these gender-based risks to VL, illuminating the hidden dynamics affecting women in these remote communities. Through in-depth questionnaires, hospital data collection, and conversations with locals, Abigail has gained extensive insights into the impact that factors such as lack of education and rough terrain between villages and medical facilities have on accessing treatment. One trip to a household, which took 3 hours by truck, underscored the extreme challenge that a woman faced to get help at a time when she was deathly ill. Having not enough money for a motorbike taxi, a common method of transportation to hospitals in the area, she had to walk the entire distance to the nearest hospital, taking days.
As Abigail's time in Kenya comes to an end, she is striving to shed light on the overlooked narratives of the women impacted by VL and contribute to a deeper understanding of disease acquisition and prevention. While her study is still actively being carried out remotely, she hopes to spread awareness on her findings to the local women and hospitals, making VL preventative methods more accessible through educational resources, with the ultimate goal of reducing disease burden.
Abigail plans on writing her manuscript and submitting her findings to a journal for publication, to further close the problematic gaps in VL studies on women. Additionally, she intends to present her work at RISE 2025 at Northeastern University and at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) Conference next year.
