Publication Details

AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS

SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH

medicine

Training pediatric hematologist/oncologists for capacity building in Ethiopia

Pediatric Blood and Cancer, Volume 67, No. 12, Article e28760, Year 2020

Purpose: A considerable barrier to global pediatric oncology efforts has been the scarcity and even absence of trained professionals in many low- and middle-income countries, where the majority of children with cancer reside. In 2013, no dedicated pediatric hematology-oncology (PHO) programs existed in Ethiopia despite the estimated annual incidence of 6000-12000 cases. The Aslan Project initiative was established to fill this gap in order to improve pediatric cancer care in Ethiopia. A major objective was to increase subspecialty PHO-trained physicians who were committed to practicing locally and empowered to lead programmatic development. Methods: We designed and implemented a PHO training curriculum to provide a robust educational and clinical experience within the existing resource-constrained environment in Ethiopia. Education relied on visiting PHO faculty, a training attachment abroad, and extraordinary initiative from trainees. Results: Four physicians have completed comprehensive PHO subspecialty training based primarily in Ethiopia, and all have remained local. Former fellows are now leading two PHO centers in Ethiopia with a combined capacity of 64 inpatient beds and over 800 new diagnoses per year; an additional former fellow is developing a pediatric cancer program in Nairobi, Kenya. Two fellows currently are in training. Program leadership, teaching, and advocacy are being transitioned to these physicians. Conclusions: Despite myriad challenges, a subspecialty PHO training program was successfully implemented in a low-income country. PHO training in Ethiopia is approaching sustainability through human resource development, and is accelerating the growth of dedicated PHO services where none existed 7 years ago.

Statistics
Citations: 18
Authors: 18
Affiliations: 17
Identifiers
Research Areas
Cancer
Health System And Policy
Maternal And Child Health
Study Design
Cohort Study
Study Locations
Ethiopia
Kenya