Incise (Issue 3)

3

5

9

InCiSe

Issue 03 - December 2019

BORDERS InRED This Issue InCiSe

Vice President of Internal Affaris Checking Out Message from Marie-Claire Wangari

Assessment of Surgical Departments and Challenges in Somaliland - Study findings from Dr. Hassan Ali Daoud

4

7

NWG Updates Updates from around the globe on what InCiSON Members have been up to

8

Executive Board Summary Your officials check out for the last time in 2019

19

Meet the Officials Put faces to the names you know and love

22

InCiSe

VPI...Checking Out Dear InciSoN family, It has been another year full of Global Surgery activity and advocacy for the #FutureOfTheOR.

In this final edition of 2019, we recap on some of the National Working Group Activities for the final quarter of 2019 as well as have a brief overview of what the Executive Board and International Team have been up to this past year.

We also have an opinion piece from Dr. Hassan from Somaliland on the assessment of surgical services in his country.

On behalf of the Incise editorial team, I wish to thank the National Working Groups for the amazing work that they have been doing and urge them to continue with that spark in 2020. Indeed you are the epitome of the phrase Think Global, Act Local!.

It conclusion, it has been an honour serving as the Vice President of Internal Affairs and being the editor of the Incise magazine. Should you have any feedback please do not hesitate to reach out on vpi@incisionetwork.org and cc mcwangari.wm@gmail.com

If you are ever in Nairobi please do not hesitate to reach out for a cup of tea via my personal email mcwangari.wm@gmail.com or WhatsApp number +254713835507

Till we meet again Marie-Claire Wangari

ASSESSMENT OF THE PROGRESS OF SURGICAL DEPARTMENTS AND CHALLENGES IN SOMALILAND INTRODUCTION Somaliland has emerged from a recent conflict that caused the vast majority of skilled surgeons to flee to neighboring countries.

This is not the only problem that Somaliland is facing, naturally the country shares many characteristics with other post conflict zones, suffering from inadequate infrastructure, shortage of healthcare workforce, insufficient supply of equipment and health facilities and finally the lack of an overall health care system that adequately regulates the service delivery.

Somaliland thus faces many challenges in the surgical field.

Surgeries are costly, and incredibly difficult to access. The poor often can not afford the procedures and even if they can, the risk of grave complications as a result from the surgical procedures is especially high among them. However, many a time even the rich have no access to an adequate quality of surgical care.

been performed without the presence of any certified surgeon. The only available practicing surgeons are in fact general practitioners taking up the heavy task. Clearly, the term ‘neglected stepchild of global health’, used to refer to global surgery by many experts of the global health society is especially applicable in Somaliland.

With the growing population, the development of sophisticated diagnostic imaging and the establishment of more and more hospitals, the needs for qualified surgical personnel including certified surgeons, anesthesiologists and OR nurses are extremely high. Somaliland is a young country and the first medical graduate only obtained his degree in 2007, however the field of medical professionals (also consisting of OT nurses and nurse anesthetists) is growing.

Dr Hassan Ali Daoud is an intern Doctor from Amoud University and a member of the Incision International Team.

He is an avid campaigner for global surgery, maternal health, and health for all.

Email: talktohassanali@ gmail.comdolestrud etumsandre.

For the past 27 years the larger part of surgical procedures has

Issue 03 - December 2019

5

InCiSe

6

Methodology Both a quantitative and qualititative approach were used.

The article is the result of the interviews of 10 health professionals. The interviewees included surgeons, a surgical practitioner, a nurse anesthetist, OT technicians, hospital managers and hospital managers of 3 different public hospitals.

Results “There is some improvement in terms of knowledge, equipment, anesthesia, presence of few Intensive Care Units.

In 1990s, there were no officially trained anesthetists, but first group of nurse anesthetists were trained in 2013.

Still we are missing trained OT nurses, enough operating rooms, some of the basic equipment’s like bronchoscopy, cystoscopy, and other diagnostic modalities.

Anesthesia machines are available most of the regional public hospitals but the anesthesia team are lacking the knowledge of how to use it.” as said by Dr Shugri Dahir, Surgical Resident at Edna Adam Hospital.

Gradual development of surgical services: 1990-2000: General Surgery/ OBS 2000-2010: Orthopedics, ENT, and Gynecological Procedures 2010-2019: Endoscopy Vascular Surgery, and Some Neurosurgery

“In Somaliland, due to a lack of certified surgeons, there are many different health care professionals who are involved in surgery.

Furthermore, junior doctors are frequently working without senior supervision. This all results in high numbers of malpractice which can have grave consequences and even lead to death. Even though there are many nurse anesthetists, only a few of them are educated to perform pediatric or geriatric anesthesia.”

Gaps In Somaliland, surgeries that are most frequently performed are surgeries in the following specialties: General surgery, OBS/GYN, orthopaedic surgery, urosurgery, ophthalmic surgery, and ENT. The following operations involve surgeries that Somaliland is unable to perform: cardiacthoracic surgeries, neurosurgeries, maxillo-facial surgeries, joint replacement surgeries, complex trauma surgeries and most of pediatric surgeries. This forces patients to leave the country and seek help elsewhere.

reported by hospital administrators was the fact that hospitals have been using the same equipment for over 25 years.

More advanced equipment like CT scanners and MRI are only accessible in two regions of Somaliland. These major hospitals that do have access to better equipment such as Hargeisa Group Hospital (The largest referral hospital country) cannot cope with the high patient demands resulting in extremely long waiting lists.

Opportunities The government officials reported the existence of some surgical campaigns done by foreigners or NGOs who support Somaliland hospitals.

These include obstetric fistula repair, smile operations, hydrocephalus shunts, club foot repair, and some eye surgeries.

Available training in the country

However this journey can be hazardous and patients may lose their lives on the way.

Nursing Anesthesia Program - Degree in Nursing Anesthesia are provided by Al-Hayat Teaching Hospital and Edna Adan Teaching Hospital since 2013.

One of the biggest challenges related to surgical equipment,

Surgical Residency in the Country - The first and the

only surgical residency started on September 2018 at Hargeisa Group Hospital with the collaboration of University of Hargeisa and Turkish University.

Conclusion The study has shown that although there is some progress in the surgical departments of Somaliland, this progress is happening very slowly due to insufficient planning of infrastructure, lack of a health work force plan and poor prioritizing of training.

Despite all these limitations there are some tangible improvements in the surgical field.

Recommendation for the future · Improving infrastructure and equipment · Surgical training including residency specialization and anaesthesia · Health workforce plan adaptation and regulation.

Issue 03 - December 2019

7

8

InCiSe

NWG Updates

Bosnia and Herzegovina: The First AESBH Congress, 6-8 Sept 2019, Sarajevo Small steps forward for the minimally invasive surgery in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The First Congress of Endoscopic Surgery in Bosnia and Herzegovina made a review of the situation regarding endoscopic surgery in ourcountry, and the directions and means for improvement that are about to be established.InciSioN B&H was invited to be part of the hosting team of the congress.

With the support of the European Association of Endoscopic Surgeons (EAES) as well as the Asia’s and North America’s Associations.

Selected topcis from the realm of endoscopic surgery and speakers from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, United Kingdom, Mexico, USA etc. at-

9

tracted the attention of both doctors and students who work in abdominal, thoracic or pediatrics surgery, urologists, neuro-surgeons, gynaecologists, earnose-troath specialists, gastroenterologists and other medical professionals who work in endocopic surgery.

During the Congress 42 of our team members took care of the hosting doctors who came from all around the world to Sarajevo. We had an amasing opportunity to meet and learn from world`s best endoscopic surgeons both in “official“ and “casual“ part of the Congress.

The First AESBH Congress, 6 to 8 September 2019 Sarajevo

Above Cristiano HUSCHER MD, PhD, FACS, FRCS from Rummo Hospital, Department of Oncologic Surgery Benevento, Italy Professor Amir Nisar MBBS FRCS, UK FRCSI, FRCS (Gen.) UK CCT (UK)

Issue 03 - December 2019

10

InCiSe

NWG Updates

World Anaesthesia Day The symposium dedicated to celebration of the World Anaesthesia Day 2019 was organised by InciSioN B&H in collaboration with the Clinics of Anaesthesiology and Reanimatology University Clinical Centre of Sarajevo.

First Anaesthesia was presented on October 16 1846

by Oliwer Wendell Holmes in USA , and since than October 16 is recognized as World Anaesthesia Day. The focus of the symposium were topics related to the resuscitation of the adults and pediatric patients. This year campaign is dedicated to principles, techniques and significance of the crucial role of anesthesiologists in resuscitation.

The lecturers were renowed

specialists from the Clinics of Anaesthesiology and Reanimatology, known for their hardwork and dedication.

During their presentation, the importance of the team work and the multidisciplinary approach of each patient, for the successful treatment, were also repeated.

Along with the physicians, students of the Medical Faculty Sarajevo, also held presentations. One of them was “Neuromuscular stimulation” as an introduction to the workshops that were prepared for the students after the lecture. This is the second time that InciSioN B&H organised such an event. We are proud of our students who have showed a great interest in this medical speciality.

Amina Kraljusic, Sabina Kurbegovic, Layla Ivanisevic and Almedina Imamović are the students who deserve thanks for the effort and contribution.

Special thanks to our colleagues from BoHeMSA who are great support for everything we do.

Pink October Last October was Pink in InciSioN B&H. Guess why? We are proud beacuse it is the second time that we have organised lecture dedicated to the Awareness of the breast cancer.

The main aim of our lecture was to show the importance of breast self-examination.

This lecturewas organised by Medical Student organisation in Bosnia and Herzegovina-BoHeMSA and National work group in B&H - InciSioN B&H. The target group were female students from University of Sarajevo. The lecture was organised at the Medical Faculty in Sarajevo, on October 28.

This lecture answered many important questions like: If you recognize the change on your breast, what are you supposed to do?

If you recognize the change on your breast (shape, size, lump) during breast selfexamination, you should inform yourself about the following procedures and examinations with your doctor. Mammography is known as one of the most important diagnostic procedures for the breast cancer.

Benign or malignant change?

If the change is benign than you should continue with regular controls and heatlhy lifestyle.Malignant change demands further examination and surgical approach.

The specialist of the Glandular Surgery Dr Emir Bičakčić presented us different kind od surgical procedures that are used in the treatment of the breast cancer.

What’snext step?

How to continue with normal activites after surgical procedure? Lymphedema is one of the most frequentconsequences after lymphadenectomy(part of surgical approach of breast cancer).. Dr.med.sci.prim.

Sabina Sarić is the one who helped many women in the treatment of lymphedema with physiotherapeutical exercises and advices. She shared her knowledge with the audience.

all evils in this world. And breast cancer is only one of them.

Special thanks to association “Think Pink“ who gave us the chance to be part of the projectthat consisted promotion of the importance of the breast self-examination and organisation of Race for the cure. It was the pratical part of our Pink October.

Life is short. And health is such a valuable gift. Unfortunely, we don’t appreciate it untillwe lose it. So, let the love between us become a major strenght for all of us to start do breast self-examina-

Stories behind the ilness We were proud to show that there is nothing that a woman can’t win. Our special guests from association „Renesansa“ were women who survived breast cancer. Their life stories are proof to every person that optimism, courage and support of our beloved can win

Issue 03 - December 2019

11

12

InCiSe

NWG Updates

Disseminating INCISION Throughout Democratic Republic of Congo

Updates from Somalia

SAFARI NTERANYA Daniel (INCISION DRC COORDINATOR/ MD CANDIDATE 2020 UNIVERSITE OFFICIELLE DE BUKAVU) DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO a huge country in superficies (2 345 000 square meters) located in the central African region is a member of the InciSion through it National Working Group for two years now. This country most known for its unaccountable minerals resources, its rainy forest and it courageous people stays often in spotlight for the massacre and wars ongoing especially in the eastern region of the country. This pity situation is responsible for many mass displacement of its population fleeing form cut-throats and sexual violence. This results in many injuries contrasting with the poorly equipped healthcare structures and lack of well-trained surgeons to address this sufferings. Thus a group like incision fined its importance in sensitizing and training medicals students and professionals on global surgery.

Since its creation, InciSion DRC was present only in Goma and only a few medical students and healthcare professionals were aware of its existence. The former leading team made of Dr FADHILI BAKE as former chairs and cofounder and Dr ULRICK SYDNEY, former secretary and cofounder; dreamed to cover all the country to make its actions visible. Accessing at the board of direction as the actual leading team, we have taken the challenge to make their dream come

true. We are glad to announce to the InciSion family that InciSion DRC NWG is now present in three DRC regions (EAST, WEST, and CENTER) through its Local Working Groups.

The LWGs are as follows: 1. SOUTH KIVU LWG This LWG comprise medicals students from three medical schools located in Bukavu: UNIVERSITE OFFICIELLE DE BUKAVU (UOB), UNIVERSITE CATHOLIQUE DE BUKAVU (UCB) and UNIVERSITE EVANGELIQUE EN AFRIQUE (UEA).

The leading team comprises: • Coordinator: HARMONIE EKONGO (Université Catholique de Bukavu) • Assistant Coordinator: EBEN-EZER GENDA (Université Officielle de Bukavu) • Secretary : Jean Jacques (Université Evangélique en Afrique) • Advocacy : Masheka David (Université Catholique de Bukavu) • Research : Kabuka Lubula Josué (Université Officielle de Bukavu) • Education : Felista (Université Catholique de Bukavu) 2. KINSHASA LWG This LWG is a mix of 5 medicals schools in Kinshasa: UNIVESTITE DE KINSHASA (UNIKIN), UNIVESTITE PROTESTANTE DU CONGO (UPC),

UNIVERSITE SIMON KIMBANGU (USK), UNIVERSITE BEL CAMPUS, and UC KIN with the vision to cover all medical schools in Kinshasa. The leading team comprises five members as follow: • Coordinator: DAIVE LIKUNDE (UNIKIN) • Assistant Coordinator: • Secretary: DIVINA NDENGA (BEL CAMPUS) • Advocacy: Samuel MBADU (UNIKIN) • Research : Daniel KADESIRWE (UNIKIN) • Education: Christian MBIJIHO (UNIKIN) 3. KASAI CENTRAL LWG • Coordinator: Freddy KALALA • Secretary: Théophile BAKAMPABU • Research : Albert MUTOMBO • Protractor: Mardochée KAMBA. We are aware that the job is tough and that more still to be done in the field of global surgery in our country, reason we‘re setting contact with other medicals students from the North and the South and especially those from the great lakes region of Africa.

Setting up LWGs find its benefit in making our work visible within the country especially in conducting research if we want to see the whole

Issue 03 - December 2019

13

InCiSe

14

On 27 September 2019, Incision Somalia organized a workshop on pre/post-operative care.

Then on 16-17 October 2019 in line with world trauma and world anaesthesia day, InciSoN Somalia organized a conference on “How to develop National Surgical, Obstetrics and Anaesthesia Plans (NSOAPs).�

The event was attended by students, junior doctors and specialists in the field of surgery and anaesthesia based in Somalia. Furthermore, the status of anaesthesia care in Somalia wws presented by Dr. Abdullahi Said Hashi, the Incision Somalia research director and an anesthesia and critical care resident at Mogadishu Somalia Research and Training hospital.

Dr. Awale Abdullahi, a general surgeon and senior lecturer of surgery and trauma also made a presentation on the state of trauma care in Somalia.

Did you know?....

Trauma is one of the major health incident reported in various states of Somalia. These trauma cases are mainly due to armed conflict and terrorist attacks. In July 2019, a total of 735 cases of trauma, resulting from weapon injuries were reported in 5 states and Banadir region.

Trauma continues to be one of the most significant public health challenges in Somalia, and in August 2019 alone, 953 new trauma cases were reported.

How to prevent trauma By raising awareness of and enforcing laws governing speed limits, alcohol impairment, use of seat-belts and child restraints and crash helmets as well as formulating and implementing transport and land-use policies that promote fewer, shorter and safer trips. Furthermore, by

encouraging the use of safer modes of travel, such as public transport; and incorporating injury prevention measures into traffic management and road design such as making vehicles more protective for occupants, pedestrians and cyclists, and more visible using daytime running lights, high-mounted brake lights, reflective materials on cycles, carts, ricks-haws and other non-motorized forms of transport

The First AESBH Congress, 6 to 8 September 2019 Sarajevo

Issue 03 - December 2019

15

16

InCiSe

NWG Updates

Uganda

GSSA UPDATES

Adupa Emmanuel, Chairman, InciSoN Uganda.

GSSA General Updates: Incision Uganda came into existence about 6 months ago and have been making waves in the global surgery arena as follows: 1. They are currently heading a collaborative research between Incision Uganda, DR Congo and Burundi and are currently at the data collection stage 2. They have also been able to host 2 community activities as follows: I. Educating rural communities on healthy life styles which would aid in preventing Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs) which is one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity in the world today, especially in the Low Middle Income Countries (LMICs) II. Students grand rounds where they’ve impacted basic research skills to university students.

17

The last few months have been very exciting for GSSA. Our organization had a strong presence at this year’s American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress held in San Francisco, California. At ACSCC 2019, GSSA worked alongside InciSioN and the RAS ACS Global Surgery workgroup to put together a program for students, trainees and faculty.

The program included sessions that introduced and provided information regarding each of the three major organizations as well as a session specifically focused on “What is Global Surgery”. Additionally, a student and trainee global surgery social event also occurred the following

evening with a great turnout!

We also recently announced our upcoming 4th annual Global Surgery Symposium. We are very excited to host this event with the University of Utah School of Medicine in March of 2020. More details about registration will be coming soon.

Lastly, we have recently opened up applications for our national team.

GSSA now has over 50 chapters across the United States and as our organization continues to expand, we are seeking out more dedicated members of our community to provide a fresh perspective and lead within GSSA. We look forward to the growth of our organization and make sure to keep a look out for our new national team members who will be announced in early spring!

Education: In our continuous effort to engage medical students and trainees interested in global surgery and to make information regarding global surgery more accessible, GSSA is spearheading an educational webinar initiative.

The project consists of a series of quarterly webinars which include panelist discussions and Q&A with participants. Each webinar also concludes with follow-up educational resources for participants to gain more information. The webinar series will feature different leaders within global surgery, anesthesia, obstetrics and gynecology, advocacy and business.

The First AESBH Congress, 6 to 8 September 2019 Sarajevo

Issue 03 - December 2019

18

NWG Updates

All webinars will also be recorded and posted on the GSSA website.

The first episode of the series, “Stories from Leaders in Global Surgery”, took place on October 22nd 2019 and featured Dr. Ray Price (MD, FACS – University of Utah) and Dr. Rachel Davis (MD – Baylor College of Medicine) as guest speakers.

GSSA National Team Member Natalie Pawlak (VP for Education) served as the moderator.

The discussion focused on the diverse experiences of the panelists that led them to become leaders in shaping the narrative of global surgery today.

Dr. Davis described key moments in which she was struck by the gaps in contemporary US general surgical education for those planning to practice in LMICs, and how these realizations shaped her vision to establish the Global Surgery Track at Baylor - a unique, two-year NRMP-recognized program incorporating international, rural and subspecialty skills that is the only one of its kind in the country.

From the Executive Board

Dr. Price also inspired the panelists by detailing the untold obstacles he has faced, including the lessons he learned in Mongolia where he led an initiative to transition the country from open cholecystectomy to laparoscopic approaches. We look forward to more webinars coming soon!

Research: GSSA, InciSioN, and Rutgers are conducting a state-ofthe-art study to investigate medical student, resident, and other trainees’ knowledge and willingness to participate in global surgical, obstetric, and anesthesia systems. This study serves to strengthen research from the perspective of those not only in the U.S., but around the world.

To do so, the study is broken down into four important components: First, it will internationally assess survey respondents’ level of knowledge of six LCoGs indicators and NSOAPs. Second, it will determine the availability, access and barriers to partici-

pation in global surgery, obstetrics and anesthesia research related to LCoGs indcators and NSOAPs. Third, it will determine survey respondents’ specific interests related to this type of global surgery research.

Lastly, it will investigate the relationship between medical student demographics and their interest in global surgery systems. Two rounds of surveys have been disseminated across the GSSA and InciSioN networks of over 8,000 students. Stay tuned for future rounds of surveys and results as the data continues to come in!

InCiSe

Executive Board: Chair’s Summary 2019 was an incredible year of growth for InciSioN. As this year’s co-chairs, we are both very grateful to have such a dedicated team of 45 members on the international team who made the world’s largest trainee organization in global surgery bigger than ever.

InciSioN was present at several high-level meetings and conferences, including the World Health Assembly, the Aga Khan University Global Surgery Conference, and the American Public Health Association. We hosted the very first student in global surgery session at the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress, receiving high praise from trainees and surgeons alike, and expecting another similar session in next year’s conference.

Our annual symposium, the InciSioN Global Surgery Symposium, held in Kigali, Rwanda, attracted a record number of more than 300 participants from 28 countries, bringing the work of international and local experts in global surgery to trainees in Africa. We sharpened our structure as an organization, having implemented new bylaws to increase low- and middle-income country representation in our team and to

create more opportunities for trainees across the world.

Of course, the year is not without challenges: being engaged trainees and young doctors, synchronizing everyone’s schedules for meetings and activities require quite some organizing. Communication within teams and between teams is something we strive to continuously improve in order to help everyone participate and share their perspectives.

Nevertheless, our common passion for global surgery has helped us to overcome difficulties and fostered important, lasting friendships.

We expect 2020 to be another year of new heights for InciSioN, with the new co-chairs Xiya (current co-chair) and Katayoun (current research subteam leader). Dominique will be continuing his work on the Board of Trustees as an immediate past chair. Preparations are well underway for IGSS2020, happening from May 1st to

3rd in Bogota, Colombia. This will be an exciting opportunity for global surgery in the Latin American region to highlight the efforts of local experts and trainees. Applications for the 2020 international team will also open from December 16th to 31st.

5 billion people remain without access to safe surgical, anaesthesia, and obstetric care when needed, but with the work of passionate trainees and other collaborators, the gap is closing, and the 2030 objective look more attainable than ever. We want to thank every single one of our members, national working groups, and partners for a wonderful year, and InciSioN is looking forward to collaborating with you all in 2020.

Issue 03 - December 2019

19

20

From the Executive Board

Parting Shot: From the Officials

Executive Board Updates

Vice President for National Working Groups

Education Team The InciSioN Educations Subteam aims to create a platform for those who are interested to learn about Global Surgery. We intend to provide education at a variety of levels, i.e. to meet the needs of students and young doctors working in different countries.

Highlights of each of the activities carried out by the education team in 2019 has been summarised below, in addition to some projects in progress.

• Educational Materials o Produced educational materials for the Advocacy Subteam to distribute them to NWGs during campaigns, including Maternal Health Day, World Trauma Day, Universal Health Coverage Day

o Written content regarding InciSioN and Global Surgery which has been incorporated into InciSioN new website • Blogspot o Published several blogs for campaigns throughout the year, including Maternal Health Day, Global Surgery Day, International Women’s Day, Universal Health Coverage Day • Journal Club o Education team members participated actively in the journal club organised by the Research Subteam

• Policy Documents o Developed policy documents related to Global Surgery and advocate for implementation (aim to release both by end of the year)  Research in Global Surgery (collaboration with Research Subteam)  Need for Surgical Care during Humanitarian Crisis • External Collaborations (TBC) o Education exchange programme with the Research Subteam o Global Surgery e-learning module

InCiSe

Emina Letić, 6th year medical student, Faculty of Medicine University of Sarajevo, Bosnia

One beautiful year as part of InciSioN Executive Board has almost passed and I can say that during this period I have experienced only great moments, great support, friendship and feeling that we all give our efforts to make this world better place. Once more I have been convinced why InciSioN has great potential and why InciSioN serves as great platform for the Future of the Operating Room.

I think that working as VPNWG was perfect task for me- I enjoyed communicating with the international colleagues, always exhilarated when someone new

approaches me so I could share my personal experience and advice in starting NWG. Also I felt happy to be part of their projects and ideas as support and connecting them to other colleagues I know. The atmosphere between NWGs was friendly and that is definitely the thing I am most proud of.

My cooperation with Education, Advocacy and especially Research team was great and I am thankful for all ideas and projects they have created for us. The cooperation with VPI, Miss Marie-Claire, resulted in the Incise, InciSioN Newsletter, what is something new that we

will leave to the next generations. Of course, my cooperation with Chairs was great, especially during the period of seeking Memorandums of Understanding from the NWGs. I am glad to be part of this team, to work with all of you, and I hope that I was beneficial to you as you were to me.

Issue 03 - December 2019

21

22

InCiSe

Parting Shot: From The Officials

Vice President for External Affairs

Meet the Executive Board

Dylan Goh When I look back at the year 2019 and reflect on the moments that have defined my year, my term with incision is something that I will remember fondly. Whether it was the passion of incision members or the privilege to represent a young organization with a powerful mission, I can only say what an experience this has been.

Incision is an organization that works across borders, it is an organization where idealistic young people get together to combat the issue of unequal access to surgery. This year with incision has taught me that passion is as important as experience, and with Incision, the collective passion of students and trainees can see us make big changes in the world.

My journey with Incision started on a whim whilst looking for an organization which would allow me the opportunity to learn more about global health and surgery. I started out working in the research sub team and applied to be on the EB in the following year. During my term in Incision, I had the opportunity to attend many high-level meetings, including one on primary healthcare in universal

health coverage as well as the WHA. These were rare learning opportunities to see what the global agenda for health and global surgery are. The topic of universal health coverage is often one that is not solely under the remit of healthcare practitioners, which is the same for global surgery. Working in this international committee has highlighted the stark inequalities between countries, but also within countries. From the visa regulations to the financial implications of attending meetings, even within the world of global health, inequalities are rife. As a student organization, Incision’s stance has always been one of equality, not just in surgery globally, but also fundamentally in opportunities, and this has been one large lesson for me.

As this year comes to a close, I would like to highlight some of the successes this year, from informal partnerships and advice from individuals to formal relationships, this year has been an exciting and challenging experience. This year, Incision and IFMSA have formally signed a memorandum of understand-

ing, starting our path for three years of collaboration on the issues of universal health coverage and the health workforce, with our first collaboration on the matter of UHC day. As a growing organization, I am excited about this collaboration with another medical student organization working on similar areas on global health. Ultimately, I hope that our collaboration will help us spread our message of inequalities in access to surgery.

I hope to end off by expressing my gratitude to the executive board for such a wonderful year and also to encourage anyone who is interested in getting involved to absolutely do so. Incision has proven itself to be full of like-minded individuals passionate about global surgery and surgery as a career; it is an organization that, although young, spans more than 40 countries as well as a safe space for discussion, for learning and for making friends.

I believe it is up to us to improve access to surgery, as students and trainees, but also future surgeons

Chair Dominique Vervoort Belgium

Vice-president for Internal Affairs (VPI) Marie-Claire Wangari Kenya

Chair Xiya Ma Canada

Vice-President for National Working Groups (VPNWG) Emina Letic Bosnia and Herzegovina

Vice-president for External Affairs (VPE) Dylan Goh United Kingdom

Advocacy Subteam Leader Amanda Hughes Grenada/United States

Education Subteam Leader Aswan Tai United Kingdom/Australia

Vice-president for Finances (VPF) Chia Yen Sung (Eric) Taiwan

Research Subteam Leader Katayoun Madani Grenada/United States

Issue 03 - December 2019

23

24

International Team Advocacy Ibrahim Nour (Jordan) John Marinos (Canada) Sarah Honjo (Japan) Ankit Raj (India) Jasson Javier Oscullo Yepez (Ecuador) Hannah Thomas (United Kingdom) Abhishekh Srinivas (Australia) Hannah Ernst (Canada) Hassan Ali (Somaliland) Davina Daudu (Australia) Amanda Hughes (Subteam lead)

Audiovisual & Communication Karisma Sharma (United Kingdom) Marie-Claire Wangari (Kenya)

Education

Research

Glorie Nathalie Sefu Sara Venturini (United King(Malawi) dom) Martyna Zglenicka (PoYener Valle (Nicaragua) land) Mohammed Bella Jalloh Hitomi Kimura (Japan) (Sierra Leone) Souzan El-Chazli (GreSterre Elisabeth Mokken nada) (Netherlands) Ann Pongsakul (United Theophilus Teddy Kojo States) Anyomih (Ghana) Timothy Hall (New Zea- Andile Maqhawe Dube (Zimland) babwe) Daniel Rafiki Owambo Alliance Niyukuri (Burundi) (Rwanda) Ioanna Dimasi (Greece) Joyce Kwong (Hong Kong) Pokam Feunou Ornella Julia Steinle (Germany) (Cameroon) Rebecca Jacobs MwamUlrick Sidney Knmounye begele (Tanzania) (Cameroon) Srinivasan Nandhini Hannah Weiss (United (Singapore) States) Mashkur Abdulhamid Isa Jana De Jesus (USA/Gre(Ukraine) nada) Aswan Tai (Sub-team Katayoun Madani (Sub-team lead) lead)

Interested in Joining the International Team?

Click here to apply: https://docs.google.com/ forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfJ6zUqqNRN-o8hd1v1QxqHsCJg0MuwnpFJ6Ws2JDEIh0vpaQ/viewform Deadline is December 31st at midnight GMT.

Contact Us General Email: incision.students@gmail.com VPI Email: vpi@incisionetwork.org VPNWG Email: vpnwg@incisionetwork.org Whatsapp Number: +254713835507 (VPI) Blog: http://www.blog.incisionetwork.org