Akwi W. Asombang, MD, MPH
Director of the Global Health Programs in Gastroenterology
Dr. Akwi W. Asombang is an interventional gastroenterologist at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Harvard Medical School. She is the Director of Global Health Programs in Gastroenterology at MGH. She completed her advanced endoscopy fellowship at Beth Israel Deaconess Medicine Center (BIDMC), Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts. She completed her gastroenterology fellowship at Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri and a Fogarty International Clinical Research fellowship. Prior to her fellowships she completed a combined Internal Medicine/Pediatrics residency at Saint Louis University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri and her MPH at Saint Louis University School of Public Health. She is a graduate of Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, India. Her professional interests are endoscopy (ERCP/EUS), gastrointestinal cancers, medical education, and global health.
Her travels around the world, upbringing, and interaction with various populations led her to form the Pan-African Organization for Health, Education and Research (POHER) to tackle the problems faced by most of the African communities. POHER is a non-governmental organization (NGO) with a focus on the soundness of the health sector as the cornerstone of social and economic development of all African countries. She is also the founder of The African Association of Future gastroenterologists (AAFG). AAFG aims to provide a platform for mentorship, networking and collaboration for medical students and doctors interested in gastroenterology and hepatology in Africa.