Congratulations to the ACS-COSECSA Women Scholars Program award winners!

There is a severe shortage of surgeons in Sub-Saharan Africa. Current data indicate that there are only 0.5 surgeons for every 100,000 people. Although women make up more than 50 percent of the population, they represent only 7 percent of the surgical workforce. To help address this problem, the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the College of Surgeons of East, Central, and Southern Africa (COSECSA) have developed a scholarship program to support women in surgical residency, help them complete their training, and encourage other women in medicine to consider surgery as a profession.

Congratulations to this year’s winners.

To learn more about the ACS-COSECSA Women Scholars Program, visit facs.org/ogb. ACS-COSECSA Women Scholars Program award winners.

Mahder Eshete Yilma, MD Wambui Njoroge, MD Miriam Maimbo, MD

Dr. Mahder Eshete Yilma is a fourth- Dr. Wambui Njoroge is a senior Dr. Miriam Maimbo is a general year orthopaedic surgery resident house officer for the department of surgeon at Levy Mwanawasa at Black Lion Specialized Hospital in surgery at Kenyatta National Hospital University Teaching Hospital in Ethiopia. When she was nine years in . She is currently pursuing , . In 2014, she earned old, a mass formed around her right a masters of medicine degree while her masters in general surgery knee. Without medical scanning, actively pursuing postgraduate from the . physicians feared it was malignant training options. Her work led her to More recently, she was given the and suggested amputation. Before attend the 13th World Congress of opportunity to serve the hospital as that could happen, an Australian the International Society for Diseases the acting head of the department. orthopaedic surgeon intervened. of the Esophagus held in October She hopes to make the most of her He became the model of everything 2012. All the while, she has striven tenure there by making the site she wanted to be, and no prejudice to be a role model for other women a training facility for COSECSA about women’s strength or capacity and to inspire others to join the field. students. to succeed could deter her from Once she completes her degree and joining that field. One of her hopes her fellowship with COSECSA, she is to decrease the rate and severity hopes to pursue additional training in of complications resulting from thoracic surgery. practicing bonesetters, and she plans to do so by raising awareness of these issues and providing traditional bonesetters with additional information.

To learn more about the ACS-COSECSA Women Scholars Program, visit facs.org/ogb. ACS-COSECSA Women Scholars Program award winners.

Kenseko Aidah, MD Ananya Kassahun, MD Mukagaju Francoise, MD

Dr. Kenseko Aidah is a general Dr. Ananya Kassahun is in her final Dr. Mukagaju Francoise is the surgeon at the Moi Teaching and year of residency in the department general surgery senior registrar Referral Hospital. Her interest in of orthopaedics traumatology at at King Faisal Hospital in Rwanda. medicine developed early on while Black Lion Specialized Hospital in She earned her bachelor’s degree she was still a child growing up in her Ethiopia. Since she was young, she in general medicine from the home town of Hoima, . As the wanted to be someone who had National University of Rwanda in daughter of a veterinary doctor, she the capacity to heal and save lives. 2009. Surgical electives early on was only 11 when she first helped her With this goal in mind, she entered in her studies peaked her interest mother deliver a calf. This experience the Gondar College of Medicine and in orthopaedic surgery. However, planted the seed of what would Health Science. Like many women a lack of women in the field raised eventually be a deep fascination with in the field, she encountered many some doubts for her. Dedication and the human body. As a result, she challenges, but her mother had determination have won out in the was drawn to the bachelor’s degree taught her to be a strong woman, face of doubt, and she is determined program in medicine and surgery giving her the strength to carry on. to pursue her dreams. In the at Makerere University in Kampala, She hopes to continue in pediatric future, she hopes to focus more on Uganda, which she completed orthopaedics, and with her skills, laparoscopic and endoscopic surgery, in 2004. She would go on to the she plans to be a role model to other surgical specialties that her region COSECSA training program while women just as her mother was for needs. enrolled in the master of medicine her. in general surgery program in St. Francis Hospital Nsambya. She hopes to make significant contributions to the region through research and innovation.

To learn more about the ACS-COSECSA Women Scholars Program, visit facs.org/ogb. ACS-COSECSA Women Scholars Program award winners.

Nardos Worku Ketema, Woubedel Kiflu Akililu, Florence Umurangawa MD MD Ngarambe, MD

Dr. Nardos Worku Ketema is in her Dr. Woubedel Kiflu Akililu is a Dr. Florence Umurangawa Ngarambe final year of surgical residency at pediatric surgeon and assistant is a junior consultant urologist at Black Lion Hospital, Addis Ababa professor of the department of King Faisal Hospital in Rwanda. She University and is working towards surgery at Addis Ababa University is also the chair of the Association her masters degree in public health in Ethiopia where she completed of Women in Surgery, Rwanda and at Jimma University in Ethiopia. both her undergraduate and the treasurer of the Rwanda Surgical Growing up, she was interested in postgraduate degree in 2010 and Society. She recently completed her health care and in helping people, 2014, respectively. This unit is masters of medicine degree at the and as she grew, these interests the only established center in the University of Rwanda. Her entrance converged into something that country, and the resulting challenges into the urology field is rather could not be easily smothered by have inspired her to seek out further unheard of in her country, and she the challenges and setbacks women trainings and sub-specialization and hopes that through her presence and pursuing careers in surgery inevitably to someday establish more pediatric example, she can lead more young encounter. She is particularly surgery centers at different sites women into the field. interested in pediatric orthopaedic across Ethiopia. surgery.

To learn more about the ACS-COSECSA Women Scholars Program, visit facs.org/ogb.