From: Biniam Haile \(SWE\) (eritrea.lave@comhem.se)
Date: Thu Jun 18 2009 - 20:09:50 EDT
Physicians for Peace http://www.physiciansforpeace.org/
Healing the Children - Training Doctors in Eritrea
Wednesday, June 17, 2009 by 20Years ofHeroes
The country of Eritrea, in the horn of Africa, suffers from a severe
shortage of doctors, especially pediatricians and surgeons. With close
to half of the population under 14 years of age, and only a handful of
pediatricians to serve them, many children remain without access to
proper medical care. Yet great strides have been taken to remedy this
problem, thanks to the dedication of the Eritrean people and the help of
The George Washington University Medical Center, Physicians for Peace,
and the Eritrean Ministry of Health.
As part of our 20th Anniversary series honoring the exceptional work of
our medical volunteers, we would like to put the spotlight on five women
who have been devoted to establishing post-graduate medical education in
Eritrea, and who have worked to make the The Partnership for Eritrea an
example that others can follow...
Dr. Jennifer Egelseer (above), the first pediatrician of the group to
visit Eritrea, had very little experience in medical mission work, but
was quickly won over by the people of Eritrea and recognized the needs
in the country.
Dr. Margot Anderson (above) became involved in the project following
years of work in health care in the developing world, particularly in
Laos.
Dr. Fatima Khambaty (above), a surgeon with mission experience in Ghana
and Liberia, also decided to help with the project.
These three women developed post-graduate medical education programs in
surgery and pediatrics to be conducted at the Orotta School of Medicine
in Eritrea's capital of Asmara. In a country where the health care
system has been wracked by a war of independence and no medical school
existed until 2004, they became the first post-graduate faculty as part
of the Partnership for Eritrea, a collaboration between The George
Washington University Medical Center, the Eritrean Ministry of Health,
and Physicians for Peace. In conjunction with these new partners, they
built new residency programs from the ground up to address the urgent
need for doctors.
In the United States, two other heroes are the glue that makes this
Partnership work -
Dr. Ellie Hamburger (above), an attending pediatrician at Children's
Pediatric Associate, and the Director of the Primary Care Residency
Track at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C, has
gone above and beyond the call, totally committing to making the
pediatrics residency program in Eritrea the benchmark for Africa.
http://blog.physiciansforpeace.org/blog/20-years-of-heroes/0/0/healing-t
he-children-training-pediatricians-in-eritrea
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Dr. Margot Anderson
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Dr. Fatima Khambaty
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Dr. Huda Ayas
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