Minh Thaí Phan

My name is Minh Thai Phan (Thái), and I grew up in a rural district in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta. Coming from a low-income family and as a member of the LGBTQI+ community, I experienced first-hand what it means to live without equal access to education and healthcare. One memory that stays with me is traveling 20 kilometers to reach the nearest HIV testing site, waiting eight hours for my result, and realizing that in the capital city the same process would take only 20 minutes.

That disparity was not just an inconvenience—it was a reminder of how unequal health access can be depending on who you are and where you live. This experience continues to fuel my passion to dedicate my career to advancing health equity.  

Bridging the gap between professionals and community members  

After graduating In International Business Economics, I was the first of my family to go to university, I worked in the private sector, but the health disparities I witnessed remained impossible to ignore. In 2019, I left a promising corporate career to  focus on HIV prevention programs. As both a professional and a member of the community I was serving, I brought a dual perspective that helped bridge the gap between public health systems and people’s lived realities.

Vietnams health system under strain

At the beginning of 2025, I also had to leave my position at PATH due to major funding cuts, which reflected a broader reality: Vietnam’s health system is under increasing strain as international aid declines. Both my personal limitations —especially in areas like data analysis, research design, and evaluation— and these systemic challenges made it clear to me that the country urgently needs professionals who can not only lead programs but also generate strong evidence to sustain them. This convinced me that now is the right moment to pursue the Master of Public Health and Health Equity at KIT. I follow the Epidemiology track, which will equip me with skills in statistical methods, participatory research, and implementation science—tools I need to design data-driven, community-centered interventions.  

Looking ahead, I aim to support community organizations in co-designing and conducting research, expand community-led clinics, and address broader issues such as mental health and women’s health. My vision is of a health system where no one has to endure the inequities I once did, and where equity is not an aspiration but a reality.  

A holistic approach to health

Over the past six years, I have worked to expand access to Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), HIV self-testing, and community-led health services. One of the highlights of my work was coordinating the Unitour campaign—a public–private–community partnership that brought sexual and reproductive health education to 60,000 students across nine provinces and provided 2,000 free STI testing packages. I am proud not only of the numbers, but also of the moments when students told us that, for the first time, they felt seen, respected, and safe talking about their health.  

Alongside my professional work, I became a certified yoga instructor in 2020. I have led more than 2,000 sessions for LGBTQI+ individuals, children, women including pregnant women, and older adults, and created an online platform, Trang Yoga, which has reached over 12,000 followers and 3.2 million views with free, inclusive wellness content. These experiences reminded me that health is holistic—embracing both physical and mental well-being.