“People and relationships are what make AMPATH special”

Happy 2023!  As many of you know, people and relationships are what make AMPATH special. I’m delighted you are part of the AMPATH family.

The National Cancer Institute of Kenya estimates that nine women die every day from cervical cancer, despite it being preventable through HPV vaccinations and more curable if detected early through screening. Every year the world observes Cervical Cancer Awareness in January to create awareness around vaccination, screening, and treatment. 

The AMPATH Consortium welcomes Bill Stauffer, MD, as the new executive site director and Jenny Yang, MD, and Rachel Ogumbo, PharmD, MBS, BCPS, as new team leaders for reproductive health and pharmacy.

Determining the cause of these fevers and identifying ways to improve care in resource limited settings is the research focus for Nate Nessle, DO, during his Fogarty fellowship year at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Kenya. He believes no child with cancer should die from a fever.

Although Kenyan surgical registrar (resident) Dr. Beryl Munda often found herself completely lost in the Indianapolis campus hospitals, her AMPATH educational exchange experience convinced her she was in exactly the right place professionally.

Leaders from AMPATH Kenya reunited with friends and colleagues and welcomed new partners from Ghana, Mexico and Nepal during the AMPATH Global Gathering in Indianapolis in early October.

Professor Edwin Were has been involved with AMPATH since its inception. His contribution to the collaborative network that eventually developed AMPATH began in 1991 when he joined Moi University (MU) Faculty of Medicine.

Seven 5th-year Moi University School of Medicine students finally fulfilled the opportunity to complete their rotations hosted by AMPATH Consortium universities in the U.S. this summer.

It is with great sadness that we share the news that over the weekend, we lost an extraordinary member of the AMPATH family. Dr. Paula Braitstein joined AMPATH when she moved to Eldoret in 2007 and she quickly became a invaluable member of the team.

New team leaders from the AMPATH Consortium arrive in Eldoret later this summer to begin work beside their Kenyan colleagues, educate medical trainees and improve healthcare through research and innovation.

SIGN Fracture Care has selected MTRH as the first location for the new SIGN Spine program to address spine trauma in low- and middle-income countries.

The MTRH Rafiki Center for Excellence in Adolescent Health caters to the unique needs of teens with HIV by providing treatment, nutritional support, peer support groups, educational sessions and more.

In communities throughout western Kenya, AMPATH initiatives are supporting care, training and research to improve health by working in partnership to build public sector health systems and promote well-being.

Two AMPATH community groups in the town of Webuye in Bungoma County were highlighted during a recent visit by members of the AMPATH Consortium.

As Jepchirchir (Chiri) Kiplagat comes to the official end of her Fogarty Fellowship, she looks back on a year of tremendous professional growth highlighted by being first author on a publication in The Lancet HIV about improving care for people aging with HIV.

In Kenya, it is estimated that one in every 10 people faces the reality of living with a mental disorder. The number increases to one in every four people among patients attending routine outpatient services. However, the misconceptions and stigma surrounding mental health issues, often cause people to suffer in silence without seeking help.

Dr. Jaguga received a prestigious Fogarty Global Health Fellowship through the Northern/Pacific Global Health (NPGH) Research Training Consortium. Her year-long research project trains peer counselors to deliver a brief substance use intervention for youth living with HIV and then assesses how feasible and acceptable the intervention is.

Celebrations accompanied the opening of new Project ECHO digital learning facilities at Moi University, Port Victoria Sub-County Hospital and Iten County Referral Hospital that will improve knowledge sharing and capacity of health care workers across western Kenya.