Over half of Ethiopia’s population are younger than 20 years old, and about half of the patients at its main referral hospital in Addis Ababa, Tikur Anbessa Hospital, are children. Thus, when it comes to diagnostic imaging, children make up the main patient population. Therefore, most radiologists in the country are confronted with pediatric imaging and must approach imaging with a pediatric skill set and knowledge base. In order to support pediatric imaging, a Pediatric Radiology International Outreach program has been established by collaborating partners Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), Tikur Anbessa Hospital Department of Radiology (Addis Ababa University), Radiological Society of Ethiopia (RSE), and the World Federation of Pediatric Imaging (WFPI). The mission of the program is to bolster Ethiopian pediatric radiology by: expanding pediatric radiology specialization in radiology residency, establishing the first pediatric radiology fellowship program, and organizing annual national pediatric radiology continuing medical education for radiologists and trainees.
The outreach program was founded in 2008 by Kassa Darge, MD, PhD, Radiologist-in-Chief and Chair of the Department of Radiology at CHOP, and is now directed by Abass Noor, MD, attending radiologist and Director of International Pediatric Radiology Education and Outreach at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.