Moi University and Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital are the home base for this fellowship training and are located in western Kenya which has a population over 20 million.
The majority of people in western Kenya live in rural settings. This area is very poor, has a high incidence of HIV (13%), TB and Malaria. Kiswahili is the most common language used in Kenya, yet medicine is mostly conducted in English.
This fellowship program is the first fellowship in any medical field approved by Moi University. There are seven gynecologic oncologists in Kenya and five were trained in this program. To date, six gynecologists have successfully completed the fellowship; three remained in Eldoret, one is in Kisumu, one is in Garissa and one relocated to Kampala, Uganda where she started a new fellowship training program.
This fellowship is recognized by the Kenyan Medical and Dental Society which licenses physicians in Kenya. The Gynecologic Oncology program is part of a larger program called AMPATH which is led by Indiana University. The program initially started with cervix cancer screening and to date over 75,000 women been screened. This gynecologic oncology program is academic with tripartite focus on clinical care, teaching and research. Over the past 8 years this group has secured over 6 million USD for research, primarily on cervix cancer and has over 15 publications.
Local Supervisors
Dr. Peter Itsura
Dr. Omenge Orango
International Mentors
Dr. Allan Covens (Canada)
Dr. Barry Rosen (USA)
Fellows
Dr. Afrin Fatima
Dr. Anthony Gitari
Dr. Amina Rashid Hassan
Dr. Wilfred Inzama
Dr. Anisa Mburu-Mbarak
Dr. Faiza Nassir
Dr. Wilmot Lorenzo Smith
Graduated Fellows
Dr. Benjamin Odongo Elly
Dr. Henry Chege
In their own words
"When I trained in Ob Gyn oncology education was very limited and clinical experience was palliative care for cervix cancer. Today our residents are getting a very comprehensive experience in oncology, their knowledge level is high and this will translate into better care across Kenya." - Dr. Peter Itsura, Local Supervisor, Moi University, Kenya
"I did not know or understand the complexity of oncology until I entered the fellowship training. The care we now provide is making a big difference to the lives of women and their families, whether it is curative or palliative." – Dr. Elly Odongo, Fellow-in-Training, Moi University, Kenya
Training Sites
Learn more about each training site and see who’s involved.