ASCP Center for Global Health Update January 2019

ASCP Embarks on Multi-country Tour to Advance Global Health

Below are highlights of the past month’s achievements. If you have any questions, please contact Dan A. Milner, Jr., MD, MSc(Epi), FASCP, ASCP Chief Medical Officer, dan.milner@ascp.org. 

Country Updates

ASCP Chief Medical Officer Dan A. Milner, Jr., MD, MSc(Epi), FASCP, is travelling from Jan. 21 through Feb. 21 to the following countries:

Ethiopia – Dr. Milner will run a workshop on Quality Management and Anatomic Pathology with Jeannette Guarner, MD, FASCP, Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine.  

Rwanda – He will attend the official opening of the University of Global Health Equity and Research Conference in Kigali.

eSwatini (formerly Swaziland) – Dr. Milner will meet with representatives of the Clinton Health Access Initiative, as well as the Ministry of Health, to discuss current laboratory status and implementation plan for improvement.

Lyon, France – Dr. Milner will visit the International Agency on Research in Cancer (IARC) for conference and planning meetings. The discussion will focus on developing next steps on cancer registries in ASCP’s Partners for Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment in Africa sites with the advent of the electronic lab information system.

Geneva, Switzerland – Dr. Milner will meet with Andre Ilbawi, MD, at the World Health Organization (WHO) for an informal group consultation on current cancer programs and diagnostics because of the new WHO cervical cancer program and WHO pediatric cancer program and the role of ASCP in these programs.  

Accra/Kumasi/Tamale, Ghana – After previous visits to Ghana by ASCP member volunteer Ben Owusu, PhD, of the University of Seattle, Washington, Dr. Owusu and Dr. Milner will meet with the Ministry of Health leadership and pathologists in Ghana to visit sites and finalize an implementation plan based on telepathology and immunohistochemistry (IHC).

Cote d’Ivoire – Dr. Milner will conduct a new site visit with pathologists and Ministry of Health officials, as well as plan for upcoming conference with BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH), in Seattle, WA, on pathology improvement.

Volunteers

• Mount Sinai Hospital, in cooperation with Pathologists Overseas/ASCP, is currently recruiting volunteer pathologists with cytology expertise to visit Liberia and assist with early stage epidemiological and diagnostic programs of training and service.
• The Partners for Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment in Africa project is looking for foreign language speakers in Spanish and Burmese initially, as well as members with experience in lab design and implementation to serve on the advisory committee for C/Can 2025: City Cancer Challenge.
• Opportunities are also emerging for ASCP members to lead country teams and assist with critical functions such as case assignment and team communications. If this is of interest, please contact ASCP Chief Medical Officer Dan A. Milner, Jr., MD, MSc(Epi), FASCP, at dan.milner@ascp.org.