Multi-country Visits by ASCP Result in New Collaborations and Renewed Excitement
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
- Ethiopia – Jeannette Guarner, MD, FASCP, professor of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine, Eshetu Lemma of the Ethiopian Health and Nutrition Research Institute, and ASCP Chief Medical Officer Dan A. Milner, Jr., MD, MDs(Epi), FASCP, presented a series on quality management in the anatomic pathology laboratory for pathologists and laboratory professionals from around Addis Ababa in mid-January.
- eSwatini – Dr. Milner met with the Ministry of Health (MOH) officials and hospital leadership in the former nation of Swaziland to discuss the pending telepathology support package for the national reference laboratory, as well as leadership and management training for pathology staff.
- Ghana – Babatunde Duduyemi, MD, of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, and Benjamin Owusu, PhD, Senior Clinical Fellow at the University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, accompanied Dr. Milner to Accra, Kumasi, and Tamale, Ghana to meet with MOH officials, heads of hospitals, and pathology staff to discuss the impending telepathology deployments to all three cities along with support for IHC services and training.
- Cote d’Ivoire – In February, Dr. Milner conducted a new site visit with pathologists and the Minister of Health, M. Aouele Eugene Aka, and attended/planned for the conference with BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH), in Seattle, WA, on pathology improvement.
Public Relations
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.
- ASCP is seeking donations of gently used anatomic pathology equipment to assist with upgrading and/or building multiple labs in several countries to support diagnostics for cancer.
- 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.
Meetings
- Members of the ASCP Center for Global Health team will attend the ASCP Leadership Forum, April 10-14, in Miami, Fla.
