Kristina Köhler, from Tallinn, Estonia, was a VCU Humphrey Fellow in the 2019-2020 cohort studying public health policy and management. At the time of her fellowship Köhler was working as an adviser in the analysis and statistics department in the Ministry of Social Affairs. We spoke with Köhler recently about her current work in Estonia and lessons learned from her fellowship.

VCU: Kristina, tell us a bit about your current position and work in Estonia. How has your work changed since your fellowship began in 2019?

Köhler:  After my return to Estonia, I worked as an advisor in the public health department in the Ministry of Social Affairs for a short time by leading the development process of the first COVID-19 exit strategy for Estonia before joining the World Health Organization. I have led the WHO country office in Estonia for about three years and it has involved a variety of different health topics in addition to managing the office. The focus of our offices’ work in Estonia in addition to COVID-19 mostly has been on non-communicable diseases including mental health. The later has become one of the priority topics in recent years for the Government and the President of Estonia, especially after Estonia received many refugees from Ukraine.

In the beginning of June, we organized the first ever Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Times of Crises Conference in Estonia together with other United Nation organizations and the Ministry of Social Affairs of Estonia. This conference was opened by the First Lady Sirje Karis. Currently we are preparing for the global MHPSS simulation exercise where countries around the world will come to Tallinn in September and another bigger event will take place in Tallinn in December where all 53 WHO European Region member states will celebrate Tallinn Charter 15th anniversary with the high-level health systems conference titled Trust and Transformation: Resilient and Sustainable Health Systems for the Future.  

I now am part of WHO’s management team, and my work has changed considerably, as I now lead and develop the strategic work of the WHO and everything that entails representing WHO in Estonia.

VCU: What would you say are your biggest achievements since returning to Estonia in 2020?

Köhler: As far as I can remember I have dreamed of publishing an article in Lancet. In 2022 I co-authored an article there for the first time. See article here, so I would count this as my biggest achievement after my return to Estonia. While there is still lot to do, I am also pleased with the work that we have been doing together with the ministry and its agencies related to the mental health in Estonia.

VCU: What lessons learned during your fellowship have you been able to apply since returning to your home country?

Köhler: One of the lessons that I learned was to take some time to think what you actually want to achieve in your career. As I was running around like a hamster in a wheel, I did not have time to think about this very thoroughly. The fellowship year gave me a great opportunity to look and discover the different opportunities and also discover more about myself and to set personal goals for the future.  A second lesson was that the leadership-related seminars, including the Global Leadership Forum, were very useful.

Additionally, the mingling and social events that go together with the program in general helped me to find my footing in
diplomacy and made me more aware of the cultural differences that are very useful in international arena where I currently work.

VCU: What advice would you give to our current cohort of fellows?

Köhler: Firstly, I recommend taking some dedicated time to look into yourself and to imagine what you want from your future career. When this is as clear as possible ask advice from your program and faculty advisor about the activities, classes, developmental assignments, and any other things that you could do to build up the needed knowledge and skills to achieve your goals. No goal is out of reach as long as you know where you are going and are willing to put some (hard) work into it.

Secondly, I really enjoyed the professional and personal friendships that I made during my fellowship with other fellows and locals, and I advise to invest in these relationships as they will help you to get through the fellowship in times when you do not have your social network nearby, they will also expand your horizons and many of them might last for a lifetime.

VCU: Thank you.  Kristina may be contacted at www.linkedin.com/in/kristina-köhler-53847080