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Title : MAKING SMILES

A dental doctor and final year dentistry students volunteered in this dental screening drive stationed in Aung Run Primary School in Cambodia. The make-shift dental screening room was a temporary set-up by the non-governmental organisations Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and One-2-One. The school children get their teeth checked and repaired by the dentists. Since 2019, these dental health screenings are conducted twice every year by One-2-One with financial support and coordination from CRS’s Healthy Kids Project. The dental programme is one of the joint initiatives led by CRS to support the oral health needs of children from rural and poor communities. The programme is greatly appreciated by the local schools and families.

Link to full article : https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(22)02538-7/fulltext

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2020 has been a difficult year globally. As we adjust to changes and adjustments to our lifestyles, our work and our family ; we seek strengths, joy and directions in our daily lives. Despite feeling isolated from the real world whilst working from home, I find positivity in sharing my photographs and my health stories with a worldwide audience.

I am grateful to have two winning photographs in this year’s Lancet competition. The Highlights 2020 frame important health stories from diverse countries.

Link to Full Article http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)32682-9/fulltext

Photo Info : The locals in this Cambodian village live near the forests and they had experienced different levels of malaria transmission sometime in their lives. The villagers know the importance of LLINS which helps to prevent the mosquito-borne disease. Preventive effort of the long lasting insecticide treated nets (LLINs) programme was initiated to provide accessibility of this mosquito preventive tool in Malaria endemic areas in Cambodia.

One of my photographs is on Covid-19. The photo was taken when I collaborated with the National Centre of Infectious Diseases in Singapore this year. I am glad that I am able to feature the work of our Singapore Team and highlight the dedication of their work in controlling Covid-19 and keeping Singapore safe.

Photo Info : A medical laboratory scientist at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) in Singapore tests for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) using a PCR test. This highly sensitive test detects the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA, in samples from patients, such as throat or nasal swabs.

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PICTURING DENGUE IN VIETNAM

In August, 2019, Pearl was invited to lead a dengue photography project at the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU), which works in partnership with the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

This Lancet article features 8 of Pearl’s dengue photographs captured on this trip.

For the full article , please click on Lancet Link : https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(19)32940-X/fulltext

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Winner of FIGO Photography Award

Pearl Gan is the Winner of the FIGO Photography Award 2019. This announcement is featured in the FIGO’s October newsletter. You can see the winning photo and Pearl’s quotes published in FIGO’s October newsletter . This is aligned to the UN’s International Day of Rural Women.

https://www.figo.org/news/winner-2019-figo-photo-competition-0016257

I met Wini Pradina and her baby in Puskesmas Cipadung neighbourhood in Bandung, Indonesia. I just finished my day photographing tuberculosis patients and health workers in the Puskesmas Cipadung and was about to leave the local health centre when I saw the mother and child just leaving the tuberculosis clinic after a health check for tuberculosis . Wini’s husband is working as a garbage collector for their neighbourhood , including the puskemas (the local health centre ). His job has a high risk of contracting tuberculosis due to the exposure to infected patients in the local health centre. Hence regular check ups for the family is important.
I was captivated by the face of my subject, Ms Wini Pradina and the way she slings her little baby in her traditional sarong wrap. Like many of those in the disadvantaged families in the periphery of Indonesia, she had to struggle through life looking after the health of her family. I wish I could do more to help people. This wish inspires my mission as a photographer for infectious diseases; to continue my role in raising awareness and in facilitating the education of the general public about infectious diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis. Through my captured images, I hope to create an emotional connection between the viewers and the plight of the subjects. An informed public can help facilitate global efforts to help to make their lives much better and to eliminate infectious diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis once and for all.