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Devina Buckshee

Writer, researcher and public health practitioner.

I write about people, health, gender, migration and the systems that shape our lives.



The University of Edinburgh, MA (Hons) | Yale School of Public Health MPH

India based 

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Research & Academic Work

A Resource Guide for Museum Accountability and Decolonization

Following the death of George Floyd in May of 2020, many museums and museum professionals reignited long-held discussions surrounding the nature of the museum as an institution and the ethics revolving around their collections. This is a resource guide, in book form, for those inside and outside the museum industry who want to initiate change regarding the way non-Western art is presented and displayed, or for those who want to learn about the history of the colonial museum. This book features N
Photo by Eftychia Syrimi on Pexels

‪Barriers And Facilitators For Implementing The Who Safe Childbirth Checklist In Mozambique: A Qualitative Study Using The Consolidated Framework For Implementation Research (cfir)‬

High maternal and neonatal mortality rates persist in Mozambique, with the issues of stillbirth remaining understudied. Most maternal and neonatal deaths in the country are due to preventable and treatable direct childbirth-related complications that often occur in low-resource settings. The World Health Organization (WHO) introduced the Safe Childbirth Checklist (SCC) in 2015 to reduce adverse birth outcomes. The SCC, a structured list of evidence-based practices, targets the main causes of mat
LWW •

Devastating health issues caused by Sudan crisis in 2023: a ... : IJS Global Health

Sudan is presently experiencing the impact of a severe humanitarian crisis. The civil war in Sudan erupted on Apr 15, 2023, marked by intense confrontations among the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces1, resulting in explosions and shelling incidents that unfolded in the capital city of Khartoum as well as Omdurman1. The internal conflict has inflicted severe damage upon the health care system, manifesting through the destruction of health infrastructure, disruption of supply cha
Yale School of Medicine •

Dispatches from India: Pandemic Impacts Women’s Health

Devina Buckshee is a first-year M.P.H. student at the Yale School of Public Health. She is also a health journalist who has been monitoring the COVID-19 crisis in India over the past year. What follows is the third and final instalment of Buckshee’s reports on the human toll of the coronavirus pandemic in India. She hopes that sharing firsthand accounts of the situation in India will encourage others to support relief efforts there.

As the latest COVID-19 surge subsides in India, public health
Yale School of Medicine •

New YSPH grad helps refugee girls and women find their voices

The photos rested on easels around Luce Hall, taken by teenage girls and adult women who came to America from strife-torn countries – Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and Sudan. Collectively, they told stories of arriving and finding their way in a land quite unlike their own.

Three of the girls shared their written stories as well. Malak Al-Saadi, 13, who came from Iraq when she was 6, read a poem about missing her father and one about high school. Tasneem Musa, 15, from Syria and Jordan, who arrived
The Quint •

Periods and PPEs: Stories of Women Healthcare Workers

“I was nearly half-expecting to see a bloodbath situation down there.”

Working while on your period is always tough, but for these COVID-19 warriors, their stories are never heard.

Janki says her periods by itself are tough, “They have always been this messy, painful chaotic affair. And add to that mix PPE, then it's a whole new animal.”

Working in a COVID ward is tough enough with the long hours of handling critical patients, wearing bulky and uncomfortable PPE suits, no water or using the b
Yale School of Medicine •

“Salt to the Deep Wound” - The Humanitarian Response to the Turkey-Syria Earthquake: Challenges Ahead

As Turkey and Syria reel from the two massive earthquakes that killed 47,000 people and devastated countless lives, southern Turkey was struck by another magnitude 6.3 earthquake early on Monday, 20 February. While the immediate search and rescue teams are deployed, officials state that so far at least three people have been killed and hundreds more injured.

On the evening of February 20th, in the wake of such an unfathomable tragedy, the Yale School of Public Health’s Dr. Kaveh Khoshnood was j

Journalism

Yale Daily News •

BUCKSHEE: India is gasping for breath

It’s 4:30 a.m., and I get three frantic calls from M, my friend. I know what it is, and even before I text her back, I’m calling hospitals to see if they have beds available. I wake up friends, co-workers and other helpers I know — it’s 8 a.m. but we have a bed if M moves fast.

Indians are in collective mourning, and we all know someone who is sick or dying. Everyone is reeling from a deadly, heartbreaking second COVID-19 wave.

For the past two weeks, every time I scroll through social media,
The Wire •

Can We Talk About Refugees Without Discussing the Politics of Becoming One?

June 20 is celebrated internationally as World Refugee Day. This year, with the fast escalating immigration crisis in the US, displaced peoples’ issues dominated the news cycle.

In times of increasing awareness of (and sometimes, resistance to) the crisis, efforts are being made by several humanitarian agencies and activists to humanise the forcibly othered refugee. One such effort was the recent TEDx Talk held inside the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya in collaboration with the UN’s refugee agenc
Yale School of Medicine •

Dispatches from India: Pandemic Impacts Women’s Health

Devina Buckshee is a first-year M.P.H. student at the Yale School of Public Health. She is also a health journalist who has been monitoring the COVID-19 crisis in India over the past year. What follows is the third and final instalment of Buckshee’s reports on the human toll of the coronavirus pandemic in India. She hopes that sharing firsthand accounts of the situation in India will encourage others to support relief efforts there.

As the latest COVID-19 surge subsides in India, public health
Yale School of Medicine •

New YSPH grad helps refugee girls and women find their voices

The photos rested on easels around Luce Hall, taken by teenage girls and adult women who came to America from strife-torn countries – Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and Sudan. Collectively, they told stories of arriving and finding their way in a land quite unlike their own.

Three of the girls shared their written stories as well. Malak Al-Saadi, 13, who came from Iraq when she was 6, read a poem about missing her father and one about high school. Tasneem Musa, 15, from Syria and Jordan, who arrived
The Quint •

Periods and PPEs: Stories of Women Healthcare Workers

“I was nearly half-expecting to see a bloodbath situation down there.”

Working while on your period is always tough, but for these COVID-19 warriors, their stories are never heard.

Janki says her periods by itself are tough, “They have always been this messy, painful chaotic affair. And add to that mix PPE, then it's a whole new animal.”

Working in a COVID ward is tough enough with the long hours of handling critical patients, wearing bulky and uncomfortable PPE suits, no water or using the b
Yale School of Medicine •

“Salt to the Deep Wound” - The Humanitarian Response to the Turkey-Syria Earthquake: Challenges Ahead

As Turkey and Syria reel from the two massive earthquakes that killed 47,000 people and devastated countless lives, southern Turkey was struck by another magnitude 6.3 earthquake early on Monday, 20 February. While the immediate search and rescue teams are deployed, officials state that so far at least three people have been killed and hundreds more injured.

On the evening of February 20th, in the wake of such an unfathomable tragedy, the Yale School of Public Health’s Dr. Kaveh Khoshnood was j

Multimedia Work

Featured In

Addressing Maternal and Child Health Inequities Through Care

Through the CDC-funded Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) program, the Community Alliance for Research and Engagement (CARE), co-housed at Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) and the Yale School of Public Health (YSPH), works with community partners and residents to address health inequities related to nutrition, physical activity and access to community clinical care. A primary focus of our nutrition initiative is supporting parents in their intentions to chest/br
Verve Magazine •

‘The Pink List’ Tells You Your Lok Sabha Candidate’s Views On Queer Issues | Verve Magazine

‘The Pink List’ Tells You Your Lok Sabha Candidate’s Views On Queer Issues

In the last few decades, queer issues have found their way into the country’s mainstream political discourse. After years of petitioning by the LGBTQIA+ community, India’s Supreme Court struck down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), decriminalising homosexuality last year in July. Now, as the nation’s Lok Sabha (LS) elections are in full swing, 22-year-old Anish Gawande, director of the Dara Shikoh Fellowship, 2
the polyphony •

Reproductive Trauma Narratives from Rural India

Manali Karmakar draws on the illness narratives of three women from rural India to showcase how caste, gender, and sociocultural and geographical location strongly shape reproductive health and well-being.

India is acknowledged as one of the few nations that has enforced the most progressive reproductive laws for promoting the holistic well-being of women. Way back in 1971, the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act was enacted to enable women to access safe and affordable abortion services
Vogue India •

Lok Sabha elections 2019: How To Know Which Candidates Support LGBTQIA+ | VOGUE India

From protracted social media duels to impassioned in-person rebuttals, the lead-up to the Lok Sabha elections 2019 has been long to say the least. The third phase of voting is currently underway, and Google has been marking each polling day with a Google Doodle titled ‘How to Vote #India'. But “Who should I vote for?” still remains the most pressing question many voters face—one that comes attached with several undercurrents about whether you resonate with a particular candidate's tenets, and if

A Resource Guide for Museum Accountability and Decolonization

Following the death of George Floyd in May of 2020, many museums and museum professionals reignited long-held discussions surrounding the nature of the museum as an institution and the ethics revolving around their collections. This is a resource guide, in book form, for those inside and outside the museum industry who want to initiate change regarding the way non-Western art is presented and displayed, or for those who want to learn about the history of the colonial museum. This book features N
Harper's Bazaar India •

These incredible women prove that the future, truly is, female

These incredible women prove that the future, truly is, female

India’s first female combat trainer who has been instructing the country’s elite armed forces for over two decades. “I look forward to training more, getting leaner and meaner, and advancing my hand-to-hand combat and sharpshooting skills. I want to empower more Indian women to take up jobs, reach their maximum potential, and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with men in all areas of achievement.” Jacket, ₹6,500, AM:PM. Shirt, pants, and a

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