Ethiopian National Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Training Program
Initiatives implemented and/or planned thus far include:
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A national two-year fellowship training program sited at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital (TASH) in Addis Ababa, supervised by TASH attending pediatric hematologist-oncologists and staffed by Aslan’s volunteer global medical faculty.
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Open to candidates from all of Ethiopia’s major health institutions/universities, the fellowship adheres to a “hub and spoke” philosophy whereby, upon graduation, the newly-certified pediatric hematologist-oncologists will then return to their home institutions to establish, lead, and/or staff pediatric cancer programs there.
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As with Aslan's other Ethiopian fellowship programs, the curriculum consists of 18 months onsite education and training at TASH and a six-month rotation at a high-functioning cancer institution in a low- or middle-income country.
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Ongoing training and education in pediatric oncology nursing for senior nurses.
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In partnership with Pakistan’s Indus Hospital, for example, Aslan sponsored seven pediatric oncology nurses in July 2019 from Ethiopia and Kenya to attend Indus’ internationally recognized training program in pediatric oncology nursing.
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As with all of Aslan's training programs, the goal is to create local expert trainers in Ethiopia and Kenya equipped to teach the best practices curriculum to nursing staff from other pediatric oncology units.
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A pediatric cancer registry and quality improvement initiative piloted at TASH in collaboration with the University of North Carolina Schools of Medicine, Pharmacy, and Global Health, which includes charting and documentation initiatives and database training in preparation for establishment of national pediatric cancer registry.​
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Mentorship through Ethiopia’s National Pediatric Cancer Task Force to develop national treatment regimens and standard operating procedures for an Ethiopian pediatric oncology unit.
In March 2019, Aslan entered into a partnership with the Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Health to improve the country’s pediatric cancer health system. The dual goals of the partnership are to establish a national training program in pediatric hematology-oncology and to introduce initiatives designed to improve standards of pediatric cancer care throughout the country.