Transformational Dialogues Towards Decolonizing Global Surgery
In November 2020, we held our first online discussion with members of the global surgery community to meet, discuss, and share experiences on the key contemporary issues of neo-colonialism in global surgery, and actionable goals that can be taken to address this. Chaired by Professor Ameh, with Dr. Juan Cuéllar, Desmond Jumbam, Professor Nobhojit Roy, Dr. Justina Seyi-Olajide, and Dr. Omolara Modupe Williams. Watch the recording below.
SPEAKERS
CHAIR
Professor Emmanuel Ameh is Chief Consultant of Pediatric Surgery at the National Hospital in Abuja, Nigeria. Professor Ameh is Chair of the Global Initiative for Children’s Surgery (GICS) and Vice Chair for the West African College of Surgeons Surgical Plan Committee. He is co-editor of “Pediatric Surgery: A Comprehensive Text for Africa,” and is Chair of the National Surgical, Obstetric, and Anaesthesia Plan Committee for Nigeria. He has worked as the lead of the workforce, training, and education working group for the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery.
Dr. Juan Cuéllar is a plastic surgeon trained at the Dr. Manuel Gea González General Hospital in Mexico City. After his plastic surgery training, he dedicated two additional years in a micro surgery and craniofacial surgery fellowships at the University of California in Los Angeles. Dr. Cuéllar co-founder of “La Fuerza de Mi Sonrisa” (“The Power of a Smile”), a non-governmental and non-profit organization focused on the multidisciplinary treatment of indigenous children with cleft lip and palate and other congenital disorders in Chiapas, Mexico.
Desmond Jumbam is a Cameroonian health policy consultant based in Accra, Ghana currently working for the cleft NGO Operation Smile where he leads on health systems strengthening programs and health policy and advocacy engagements. He also leads research projects specifically focused on implementation science and health financing for surgical care in LMICs. Mr. Jumbam was previously a health policy analyst with the Program in Global Surgery and Social Change at Harvard Medical School where he led and advised on the development of National Surgical Obstetric, Obstetric and Anesthesia Plans in several countries. Mr. Jumbam holds a Master of Science in Global Health from the University of Notre Dame and a Bachelor of Arts in biological sciences from Taylor University.
Professor Nobhojit Roy is a General and Trauma surgeon in Mumbai, India and the U.K. and is currently a Health Systems Advisor to the Government. He holds a MPH from John Hopkins University and a PhD from the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. Professor Nobhojit was a Lancet commissioner for Global Surgery (2013-2015) and is currently a Lancet commissioner for NCD and Injuries in the poorest billion and sits on the Lifebox Global Governance Council.
Dr. Justina Seyi-Olajide is a Consultant Pediatric Surgeon and currently works at the Department of Surgery, Lagos University Teaching Hospital. Justina’s research is focused on Paediatric General Surgery, Paediatric Urology, Global Surgery, Neonatal Surgery and medical education.
Dr. Omolara Modupe Williams is a Consultant Pediatric Surgeon at Lagos State University College of Medicine, Nigeria. Dr. Williams has an MSc in Global Health with Global Surgery from King’s College London. She is keen on addressing access barriers to surgical care, improving surgical outcomes, and advocacy for children’s surgery. Dr. Williams’ research interests include neonatal and paediatric surgery, pediatric urology, and global surgery and epidemiology.