With increasing numbers of positive COVID-19 cases rising daily, and increasing hospital admission and exposure rates, many healthcare providers are faced with the reality of treating or admitting COVID-19 cases, often with limited access to testing. There is therefore a need to rapidly educate Clinicians and health workers on the medical management of this condition.
People to People, Inc. (P2P) and Anadach Group hereby invite you to participate in the third session of our webinar series “COVID-19 in Africa: Diagnostic Challenges in Adults and Children, focus on Testing”, drawing from countries earlier in the Pandemic than most African countries. The goal of this webinar is to share clinical and management experience and create a platform for healthcare professionals to interact on clinical management and related matters across several areas. Given that the clinical experience during the COVID-19 is rapidly evolving, it is important that clinicians are aware of the best ways to protect themselves and their patients during the pandemic.
The clinical spectrum of COVID-19 varies from asymptomatic or pauci-symptomatic forms, to clinical conditions characterized by respiratory failure that may necessitate mechanical ventilation and support in an ICU, to multi-organ and systemic manifestations in terms of sepsis, septic shock, and multiple organ dysfunction syndromes (MODS).
Our series of webinars will cover issues of interest to physicians, nurses, other healthcare workers and management involved in directly managing COVID-19 cases in their respective countries. Most of the specialists practicing outside Africa also have experience in medical practice in at least one African country. The first webinar focused on perspectives on clinical management from an Infectious Diseases, Critical Care/ Pulmonology and Family Practice Specialists. The second webinar focused on preparing hospitals/facilities for a “surge”. Future webinars will cover other specialties. The next (fourth) webinar in a fortnight will focus on “COVID19 in High Risk Patients”.
Recording of previous webinars and presentations are available at: https://www.anadach.com/covid19serieswebinarindex
The discussion will be facilitated by the Anadach team and P2P.
Special Guest of Honor
Engr Noimot Salako-Oyedele, Deputy Governor Ogun State, Nigeria
Speakers
Prof. Abiy Ambaye, Professor, Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine; Director, Histology & Immunohistochemistry, Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine University of Vermont Medical Center, Burlington, Vermont, USA
Dr. Yvonne Holt, Chief Medical Officer, Next Biosciences, Midrand, South Africa.
Dr. Zelalem Mukaria, Associate Director of Infectious Disease Molecular Epidemiology Laboratory, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
Dr. Joseph N. Uhama MD.MA. FIMP. SNHS. WMA. Community/General Pediatrician, Milan, Italy
Moderators
Dr. Gebeyehu Teferi, Chief Infectious Disease, Unity Health Care Washington DC
Dr. Ronke Dosunmu, Medical Director, Foundation Pediatrics, New Jersey
PROGRAMME
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12:00 – 12:05 pm Welcome – P2P
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12:05 – 12:10 pm Introduction of Special Guest(s) – Anadach
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12:10 – 12:20 pm Opening Remarks, Engr Noimot Salako-Oyedele, Deputy Governor Ogun State, Nigeria
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12:20 – 12:30 pm Clinical Diagnostic Challenges early in the Global COVID19 Pandemic – a view from the Lombardia Region in Italy - Dr. Joseph N. Uhama
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12:40 – 12:40 pm Diagnostic Challenges from Laboratory Testing Perspectives– South Africa Experience - Dr. Yvonne Holt
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12:40 – 12:50 pm Diagnostic Challenges from a PCR Assay Perspective– the Vermont Experience - Prof. Abiy Ambaye, DOWNLOAD PRESEANTION
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12:50 – 1:00 pm Diagnostic Challenges from Laboratory Testing Perspectives - Dr. Zelalem Mukaria, DOWNLOAD PRESENTATION
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01:00 - 1:55 pm Interactive Discussion including questions from the Audience, Moderators – Drs. Ronke Dosunmu and Gebeyehu Teferi
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01.55- 2.00 pm Thanks/Future Announcements - Anadach/P2P
Engr Noimot Salako-Oyedele, Deputy Governor Ogun State, Nigeria
Special Guest of Honor
Engr. Noimot Salako- Oyedele is a Civil Engineer who graduated from the University of Lagos Nigeria, followed by a Master's degree in Public Health Engineering from the Imperial College of Science & Technology London, UK. She is a multi-talented professional with over 3 decades of proven records of experience in Civil Engineering, Consulting, and Real Estate. While in the United Kingdom, she worked as a Graduate Engineer and Project Manager at Ove Arup & Partners. On her return to Nigeria, she was Managing Director, NOS NIGERIA LIMITED between 1995 and 2014, where she engaged in the construction of numerous projects ranging from office, commercial, industrial and residential buildings for the public and private sectors.
Engr. Salako-0yedele was also former Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer between 2014 and 2015 at Glenwood Property Development Company Limited where she previously served as General Manager Business Development. She then became the Acting Managing Director, GRENADINES Homes Limited in 2015, a position she held till she ventured into politics and emerged as the Ogun State Deputy Governor, making her the only female Deputy Governor in the South West States of Nigeria.
Prof. Abiy Ambaye
Speaker
Prof. Abiy Ambaye is originally from Ethiopia and he later attended medical school in Europe. Since moving to the United States more than 25 years ago, he worked initially at the Mayo Foundation/Clinic as a research fellow for several year, after which he completed his postgraduate training to become a pathologist. For the last 17 years, he has been working at The University of Vermont Collage of Medicine, where he is now a professor. The institution is the largest in the state of Vermont. The vast majority of laboratory testing for SARS-Cov-2 in the state Vermont and many samples from two neighboring states are performed in this laboratory. Currently, only PCR testing is performed, but they are also exploring the utility of antigen and serologic/antibody testing.
Dr. Yvonne Holt
Speaker
Dr. Yvonne Holt is the Chief Medical Officer at Next Biosciences, a South African biotech company involved in cryopreservation of stem cells and human tissues, production of human biological products and genetic testing. Next Biosciences was founded 15 years ago and has its head office and laboratory in Midrand, Johannesburg. Next Biosciences aims to combine medicine, science and technology to create innovative products and services that empower people to invest and take personal ownership in their future health. In March 2020, Next Bioscience decided to be part of the COVID solution in South Africa and expanded their testing laboratory to include COVID testing. Dr. Holt graduated from Wits University as a medical doctor and has a diploma in Pediatrics and Transfusion Medicine.
Dr. Zelalem Mekuria DVM, PhD
Speaker
Zelalem Mekuria DVM, PhD is the Associate Director of Infectious Disease Molecular Epidemiology Laboratory (IDMEL) at the Ohio State University, Global One Health Initiative (GOHi). In his role he oversees the laboratory activities for GOHi and coordinates trainings for postdoctoral and PhD fellows in the area of molecular diagnostics, genomics and virology. Dr. Zelalem has PhD in molecular virology with additional trainings in the area of applied genomics and bioinformatics. He has been a postdoctoral scholar at the Maxwell Gluck Equine Research Center, at the University of Kentucky, where he extensively used next generation sequencing technologies to investigate evolution and transmission dynamics of rapidly mutating RNA viruses. He also worked at Louisiana State University as postdoc fellow where he was involved in establishment of new laboratory with aim of advancing next generation sequencing methods for diagnostic applications.
Dr. Joseph N Uhama
Speaker
Dr. Joseph Uhama is a specialist in General Pediatrics and Clinical Adolescentology He is also a Certified Nutritionist and Herbalist, and a Fellow of the Italian Federation of Pediatricians. He is an associate member of the School of Natural Health Science (UK) and the World Medical Association (France). He has practiced for over 30 years as Family/Community Pediatrician and Nutrition Physician in Milan, Lombardia region of Italy – which in many ways was the frontline of the Italian Covid19 Pandemic. He is also a healthcare consultant to several international organizations.
Dr. Gebeyehu N Teferi
Moderator
Dr. Gebeyehu Teferi is Chief, Infectious Disease, Unity Health Care Washington DC. He is an Infectious Disease Specialist in Washington, DC and has over 33 years of experience in the medical field. He is a medical graduate from Med Gondar College of Medical Sciences, Gondar, Ethiopia. He was Chief resident at the Prince George’s Hospital Center, Cheverly, Maryland and a Fellow at the Georgetown University Hospital. He is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases. He is involved in clinical research and is the site Principal investigator in HIV studies funded by the NIH, University of Maryland and District of Columbia. He is also on several expert advisory panels on various viral infectious disease for several organizations including Department of Health and Social Services, and several private companies.
Dr. Ronke Dosunmu
Moderator
Dr. Ronke Dosunmu, M.D. FAAP is the Medical Director of Foundation Pediatrics and the founder of Journey Health. She has been a physician for over 30 years and is a board certified Pediatrician. In 1995, she started Foundation Pediatrics, a private practice providing quality care to the underserved urban population in Essex County, New Jersey. She is a serial entrepreneur in the healthcare space and a business coach.
Dr. Dosunmu is also a consultant in the field of pharmacovigilance and drug safety, for many major multinational pharmaceutical companies. She currently leads an alliance of physicians who are working to increase diversity and ethnic minority representation, in clinical trial research.
Hosts
Anadach Group LLC is a healthcare strategic consulting firm focusing on providing innovative advice and services to clients and partners interested in transforming healthcare systems in emerging markets and developing economies. Our mission is to dramatically improve access to quality healthcare services and products in emerging countries by enhancing the solutions to major challenges facing healthcare.
People to People (P2P) is a non-governmental, non-profit organization dedicated to improving health care and reducing the spread of diseases, particularly in Ethiopia and in diaspora communities. P2P works to mobilize the global Ethiopian diaspora to play an active role in mitigating the impact of brain drain and to ignite a passion for realizing our shared responsibility to give back. Equipped with innovative ideas, valuable transnational networks, knowledge & expertise, strong values, and new technological skills, our network stands ready to take on many of the challenges facing communities and institutions in Ethiopia and elsewhere. There are currently more than 5,000 P2P members worldwide, including doctors and other professionals who strive to make a difference in the lives of others. P2P also holds consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UNESCO).