Coronaviruses cause illnesses that range from common cold to more severe respiratory
diseases and rarely gastroenteritis. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is caused by an
emerging strain of coronavirus (SARS-Cov-2) that has not been previously identified in
humans, belonging to the same family of viruses responsible for severe acute
respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)

On 31 December 2019, a pneumonia of unknown cause detected in Wuhan, China was
first reported to the WHO Country Office in China and was the start of a global epidemic
with impact far beyond the health sector. The World Health Organization (WHO)
declared the outbreak to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 30
January 2020, and recognized it as a pandemic on 11 March 2020. According to the
World Health Organization (WHO), as at 26 th June 2020, more than 9,454,051 cases of
COVID-19 had been reported in over 212 countries, resulting in over 483,686 deaths.

The initial confirmed case in Africa was reported in Cairo, Egypt on February 20 th 2020.
Since then, over 337,315 cases resulting in 8,863 deaths are reported from 52 countries
and territories in Africa. The impact of the health crisis is already looking grave given
the relative weak health systems in several countries. Also, the global/local economic
shut down has triggered/will trigger an economic crisis in several countries which could
also affect the health sector.

Most African countries took action; including increasing awareness of the disease and
relevant hygienic practices, limiting community spread by effecting varying levels of
lockdowns (both local and international) and closing schools and government offices
etc. In most African countries, as the index case usually arrived by plane from non-
African countries, thus the initial outbreaks were urban.

While these are commendable steps, it is clear with the easing of lockdown in many
African countries that the disease continues to spread in the community with increasing
amounts of positive cases arising daily. Hospital admission rates are increasing and
many healthcare providers are faced with the reality of treating or admitting COVID-19
cases, often with limited access to testing.

 

Working with partners, People to People, Inc. (P2P), the Anadach Group is planning a
webinar series on medical management in COVID-19, drawing from countries earlier in
the Pandemic than most African countries. The goal of this webinar is to share clinical
practice and create a platform for physicians to interact on clinical management across
several areas. Given that the clinical experience during the COVID19 is rapidly
evolving, it is important that clinicians are aware the best way 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 multiorgan and systemic manifestations in terms of sepsis, septic shock, and multiple
organ dysfunction syndromes (MODS) 1 .

Thus, we are planning a series of webinars which will cover specialists directly
managing COVID19 cases in their respective countries. Most of the specialists
practicing outside Africa will have experience of medical practice in at least one African
country or members of the African Health Diaspora. The first webinar will focus on
perspectives from Infectious Diseases, Critical Care/Pulmonology and Family Practice
Specialists. Future webinars will cover other specialties.

The discussion will be facilitated by the Anadach team and P2P.

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First Webinar

Webinar Format – Up to 120mins on Zoom

Special Guests of Honor

H.E Fistum Arega Gebrekidan, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the
Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to the United States of America

Speakers

Prof. Abdulrazaq G. Habib, Professor of Infectious& Tropical Diseases, Bayero
University, Kano and Co- Chair State Taskforce on COVID-19, Nigeria

Dr. Akan Otu, Infectious Disease Consultant UK/Nigeria – COVID Hospital Experience,
Leeds Teaching Hospital, United Kingdom, download the presentation

Dr. Adey Tsegaye, Assistant Professor of Medicine ,Division of Pulmonary Critical Care
and Sleep Medicine, Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra University and Director
Medical Intensive Care Unit, Long Island Jewish Medical Center at North Well Health,
New York USA

 

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Dr. Njide Udochi, Medical Director of Millennium Family Practice and founder of
Millennium Health Group- a Healthcare Consortium, Maryland USA, download the presentation

Audience – Selected Physicians from various practice settings including hospitals,
clinics across Africa

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Fistum Arega Gebrekidan

Fitsum Arega presently is Ethiopian Ambassador to the United States of America.
Previously, he served as the Commissioner of the Ethiopian Investment Commission
(EIC) following his appointment in November 2018. This is the position he had also held
from 2013 until the beginning of 2018. Under his leadership, the Investment
Commission played a catalytic role in Ethiopia’s rapid economic growth, and the
Commission has received broad accolades for its efforts as evidenced by the numerous
international awards it has received (including from the World Bank and UNCTAD). His
leadership at EIC resulted in net FDI increase to over USD 4 billion in 2018 from
approximately USD 1 billion in 2012, supporting very high GPD growth during the
period. He promoted Ethiopia as an investment and sourcing destination, traveling to
over 40 countries and meeting with global businesses and brand leaders.
From April to December 2018, Mr. Fitsum served as Chief of Staff to Ethiopian Prime
Minister Abiy Ahmed, and assisted in restructuring federal government agencies and
steering the prime minister’s office.

Prior to these appointments, he served as Head of the Addis Ababa Investment Agency,
Head of the Addis Ababa Trade and Industry Bureau, and has served in different public
enterprises as a board chairman and member. Mr. Fitsum has an MA in Development
Economics and Policy Management from the University of Manchester, an MBA from
the Open University Business School, and a PGD in Local Government Systems and
Management from the University of Birmingham. Born and raised in Addis Ababa, Mr.
Fitsum is married and has four children.

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Professor Abdulrazaq G. Habib, MBBS, Dip LSHTM (Epidemiology), MSc
Epidemiology [Lond], MRCP, FWACP, FAMS, FRCP, CTH TM

Professor Habib is an infectious diseases physician, public health implementer,
epidemiologist, educator and a university professor since 2009. He has trained and
worked at University Hospitals in Nigeria, Saudi-Arabia, England and Singapore, and
has applied his expertise in global health toward topics including community acquired
infections, emerging infections, antimicrobial resistance, Ebola, SARS, HIV/AIDS,
immunology, clinical epidemiology, snakebite envenoming, and health economics.

Prof. Habib participated in the initial characterization of a new emerging infection CoV-
SARS in Singapore, and also served as Director Medical Services from 2005-7 to the
Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (an affiliate of University of Maryland, USA). Dr.
Habib is an international advisor to the Royal College of Physicians London (UK) and is
also a recipient of several awards and prizes including: co-recipient 3rd Prize at the
‘World Oxoid infection control team of the year award, UK (2007)’; the Singaporean
Prime Minister’s medal for valour and selfless dedication during the SARS epidemic
2003; and winner of the Ayo-Iyun Prize for best result in WACP examinations.

He is a consultant physician in Infectious and Tropical Diseases at Aminu Kano
Teaching Hospital, Kano, Nigeria. He is also the current president of the Nigerian
Infectious Diseases Society, Head of the Infectious Diseases Sub-Specialty at the West
African College of Physicians, and a Trustee of the Toxinology Society of Nigeria. He is
currently the foundation Provost of the College of Health Sciences and formerly Head of
Department of Medicine and Dean Faculty of Medicine at Bayero University, in Kano,
Nigeria.

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Dr Akaninyene A. Otu, MBBCh, DTMH, MPH, MRCP, FWACP

Dr Otu is an infectious diseases physician and public health professional with diverse
experience in research, programme development and implementation. He received
specialist training both in Nigeria and United Kingdom and has worked alongside
leading clinicians and researchers in the field of infectious diseases. He has abiding
interests in tropical diseases, invasive fungal infections, blood borne viruses, health
informatics, medical education and infectious disease outbreaks.

Dr Otu has been on the frontline of the response to COVID-19 whilst working in the
Department of Infection and Travel Medicine, Leeds Teaching Hospitals UK. He has
over ten peer-reviewed scientific publications on various aspects of the COVID-19

pandemic. He served as a Commonwealth Clinical Fellow in the Tropical and Infectious
Diseases Unit of the Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals Trust in 2014. He
has been instrumental to designing and deploying electronic training packages for
frontline health workers in resource-limited settings during disease outbreaks such as
Ebola and COVID-19. He has won several prizes, the most notable of which are the
Nuffield Prize University of Leeds UK in 2011, the Young Fellows Award of the West
African College of Physicians in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire in 2013 and the Commonwealth
Scholarship Commission Clinical Fellowship Award in 2014.
Dr Otu holds a Senior Lecturer position in the College of Medical Sciences, University of
Calabar, Nigeria. He is also the founder and Executive Director of the Foundation for
Healthcare Innovation and Development (FHIND), a non-for-profit group which
promotes research, innovation and service development through sustained
improvement of health systems and services; especially for vulnerable underserved
groups. Over the last decade, he has provided consultancy services to several
international agencies.

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Dr. Adey Tsegaye, MD, FCCP

Dr. Adey Tsegaye was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, moved to New York City after
high school and went to Queens College of The City University of New York for
undergraduate studies. She proceeded to medical School at The University of
Connecticut in Farmington Connecticut and then moved back to New York City for
further  training.  She completed her Residency in Internal Medicine and
subspecialty training in Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at Beth Israel
Medical Center in Manhattan.  She is Board Certified in all four fields and has a special
interest in point of care and critical care ultrasound where she has served as faculty for
several national and international courses for the American College of Chest
Physicians. She has been at Long Island Jewish Medical center for the past nine years
where she is the associate Program director for both the Pulmonary and Critical Care
fellowship program and the Emergency Medicine/Critical Care fellowship program.

Dr. Njideka Udochi, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.A.F.P., AAHIVMS

Njideka Udochi, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.A.F.P., AAHIVMS, is the Medical Director of
Millennium Family Practice and founder of Millennium Health Group- a Healthcare
Consortium.  Dr. Udochi has been a Physician for over 30 years and is a board-certified
Family Physician and Geriatrician. In 2004, she opened Millennium Family Practice a
private suburban family practice in Columbia, Maryland. Her Practice has over 5000

active patients from over 114 countries. She has a staff of fifteen people that speaks
twelve different languages.

Dr. Udochi is also Board Certified in HIV medicine and has experience in Addiction
medicine. She has a Master’s degree in Public Health from the Bloomberg School of
Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. Prior to completing her Family Medicine
Residency and Fellowship at the George Washington University Medical Center, she
worked in public health as a Medical Director for the state of Maryland’s High Cost User
Initiative. She also was a Medical Director for Healthcare for the Homeless as well as
HERO, an AIDS service organization. She currently sits on the board of FIRN which is
an organization focused on reducing health disparities and improving the lives of new
Americans/Immigrants in the DMV area.

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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).