Uncategorized

In 2021, Akwi Asombang, MD, MPH, joined the MGH Division of Gastroenterology, a branch of medicine focused on diseases of the digestive system, as a member of the Interventional Endoscopy team and Director of Global Health Programs. As an interventional gastroenterologist, Dr. Asombang performs advanced nonsurgical procedures that are vital to the identification and treatment of digestive disorders. Recognizing the gastroenterology resources and training are not available everywhere, Dr. Asombang currently works to build this capacity on the African continent.  We talked with Dr. Asombang to discuss her motivations for doing global health work, current projects, and vision for the [...]

This story is part of our Summer 2021 Newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. “AS PHYSICIANS OUR JOB is to think holistically about health,” says Altaf Saadi, MD, MSc, Co-Director of the MGH Asylum Clinic. This comprehensive view orients the future of the Asylum Clinic—which conducts forensic medical examinations for individuals seeking asylum. Since launching in October 2017, the Asylum Clinic has undergone tremendous growth; increasing its capacity to perform examinations for asylum-seekers, responding to COVID-19, and bringing together a wide network of providers within MGH and the greater Boston community. “We’ve seen about 325 asylum-seekers in the [...]

This story is part of our Summer 2021 Newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. ON DECEMBER 8, 2020, Margaret Keenan, a 91-year-old woman, received the first approved Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine dose in the world. Pfizer and BioNTech collaborated to produce the vaccine in less than a year. Moving through clinical trials and producing an effective vaccine in such a short period of time is one of this generation’s greatest biotechnological achievements. However, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was just the first vaccine to be approved by the European Union, the Food and Drug Agency in the United States, and the [...]

This story is part of our Summer 2021 Newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. OVER THE PAST several decades, cancer technology has grown immensely. Oncology research has led to new treatments and therapies. Patient outcomes have improved for a variety of cancers. All of this growth saves lives. “There is tremendous growth and scientific progress happening,” echoes MGH oncologist Aparna Parikh, MD, MPH. “Yet, where the preponderance of cancer cases is happening, people don’t have access to these developments.” In 2018, 59% of new cancer cases were in low- and middle-income countries and a disproportionate 70% of cancer [...]

This story is part of our Summer 2021 Newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. ON APRIL 24, 2021, Mbarara University of Science and Technology held a virtual graduation ceremony in which eight, MGH Center for Global Health sponsored, Master of Nursing Critical Care students graduated. CGH sponsored these students through the First Mile Program. The graduates were Jennifer Alobo, Brenda Ninsima, Joseph Atukwase, Johnan Turyasingura, Nagaba Ritah, Were Phiona, Jalia Nakandi Seruwadda, and Komugabe Peninah. The newly minted graduates are moving onto a variety of careers: Turyasingura is currently doing clinical work at Uganda Heart Institute, Ninsima serves [...]

This story is part of our Summer 2021 Newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. CGH RECENTLY LAUNCHED the MGH Global Health Finish Line Grant (GHFLG). The grant aims to provide junior investigators and trainees from MGH global health faculty partner sites with the funds, support, and mentorship they need to bring their research projects to completion. With the creation of the GHFLG, CGH acknowledges the financial and time challenges many researchers from low- and middle-income countries face while conducting research. By providing financial support and promoting mentorship between partner sites, CGH hopes to alleviate some of these barriers. [...]