ASCP’s Center for Global Health Collaborates with BVGH to Improve Access to Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment in Africa

Pathology and laboratory medicine are a crucial component of cancer diagnosis and therapy. As pathology and laboratory medicine are so intertwined with oncology, ASCP is collaborating with Seattle-based BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH)—through the African Access Initiative (AAI)—to improve the diagnosis and treatment of cancer in Africa.

Driven by Africa – for Africa – AAI engages stakeholders across sectors to accelerate access to cancer treatment. Using data generated at the country-level by African hospitals and governments, AAI is expanding access to cancer medicines and technologies, strengthening healthcare infrastructure, and building clinical oncology and R&D capacity in Africa. Over the past year, BVGH and ASCP have partnered to implement key programming to build oncology and pathology capacity in three African countries: Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire, and Rwanda.  

“This collaboration combines the strengths of ASCP, the world’s largest professional membership organization for pathologists and laboratory professionals with BVGH, a results-oriented nonprofit organization that is dedicated to solving global health issues by forming connections between people, resources, and ideas,” said ASCP Chief Medical Officer Dan A. Milner, Jr., MD, MSc(Epi), FASCP.

Nigeria

Last fall, BVGH and ASCP jointly coordinated a three-day pathology training workshop in Lagos, Nigeria. Three ASCP experts from the University of New Mexico and MD Anderson Cancer Center presented pathology best practices and concepts in the pathologic diagnosis of cancers prevalent in Nigeria. Pathologists and radiologists from across Nigeria presented their case studies and held case discussions with the ASCP experts and workshop attendees.

“The ASCP-BVGH pathology workshop was a very interactive and impactful event,” said Professor John Obafunwa, of Lagos State University College of Medicine, in Nigeria. “The knowledge gained from the workshop will positively impact our practice and, subsequently, the well-being of Nigerian patients.”

Côte d'Ivoire

On the heels of the Nigeria workshop, BVGH and ASCP joined forces again to hold a cancer diagnostic workshop for pathologists and oncologists in Côte d'Ivoire. In partnership with the Ivorian Society of Pathology, the Breast Pathology Workshop will be held at the University Hospital Center, Treichville on April 16-18, 2019. The goals of this workshop are to improve the efficiency and throughput of the pathology laboratory, the technical capacity of pathology laboratory staff, and record-keeping and patient management processes. Experts from the University of Montreal, Canada, will lead the workshop in French. Participants from neighboring Francophone countries – including Senegal, Cameroon, and Guinea – plan to attend.  

Rwanda

Also in collaboration with ASCP, BVGH coordinated a visit by a Kenyan engineer in February to repair a broken tissue processor, install an unused grossing station, and operationalize two cryostats at the University Teaching Hospital of Kigali (CHUK). The lab team at CHUK  is making important strides to expand their capacity to more effectively diagnose cancer patients.

As part of ASCP’s Partners for Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment in Africa initiative, the ASCP Foundation Trainee Global Health Fellowship Program has selected six U.S.-based pathology residents to visit “Partner” sites for a minimum of a four-week rotation to expand their experience, knowledge, and exposure to pathology in low-resource countries.

BVGH has supported the placement of three of the selected fellows at AAI hospital sites in Rwanda and Côte d’Ivoire. Throughout 2019, two fellows will spend four weeks in the pathology lab at CHUK in Rwanda, and a third fellow will spend a month at the University Hospital Center, Cocody in Côte d’Ivoire.

“By increasing access to cancer therapeutics and empowering local oncology professionals with the cancer care resources and capabilities available in the United States, we are bringing the critical resources needed to fight the cancer crisis facing the African continent,” says BVGH President Jennifer Dent.

Read the April 2019 Update for the ASCP Center for Global Health here.