The story of dermatology in Gondar, Ethiopia and the promise of global health

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Rishab R Revankar, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York; Abebe Sinknew, University of Gondar, Ethiopia; Kassahun Bilcha, U.S. Dermatology Partners Dulles; Mikias Woldetensay, University of Gondar, Ethiopia; Benjamin K Stoff, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2023-09-01
• Publisher: Elsevier Inc
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2023 by the American Academy of Dermatology
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jdin.2023.05.002
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: JAAD International
• Volume: 12
• Start Page: 149
• End Page: 150
• Grant/Funding Information: None
• Keywords: global health; international dermatology education; tropical and infectious diseases; resource-limited health care; teledermatology
• Research Categories: Education, Health; Health Sciences, Medicine and Surgery; Health Sciences, Public Health

Abstract

The University of Gondar is the second largest medical education institution in Ethiopia. The Department of Dermatovenereology was founded in 2007 and has since served a catchment area of 6 million people. In 2018, authors (M.W. and A.S.) launched a residency training program in collaboration with partner institutions in the United States. To date, the department has graduated 10 dermatologists and is currently training 15 residents. From piloting a virtual dermatology curriculum to initiating clinical trials in infectious diseases of the skin with multiple international partners, the University of Gondar has become a model of how resource-limited institutions can have global impact. Gondar has a robust track record of global collaboration. Our partnership with the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, Belgium, has been pivotal in pioneering new treatment algorithms for Leishmania Aethiopicia, a common disease variant encountered in Ethiopia. L Aethiopica is often resistant to first-line treatments, resulting in severe refractory cases.