Since 2019, Royal College Canada International’s (RCCI) International Development, Aid and Collaboration (IDAC) grants have contributed over $1.24 million towards 30 Fellow-led sustainability building projects in developing countries. 

We are pleased to announce that 11 new grant recipients have joined the roster this year. Click their names in the list below to learn more about their important work and contributions abroad.

• Esther Chin, MD, FRCSC
• Dan Deckelbaum, MD, FRCSC 
• Megan Doherty, MD, FRCPC
• Sherif Emil, MD, FRCSC
• Shahrzad Joharifard, MD, FRCSC
• Patricia Livingston, MD, FRCPC 
• Sulaiman Nanji, MD, FRCSC
• Saroj Niraula, MD, FRCPC
• Tara Lynn Teshima, MD, FRCSC
• Andrew Toren, MD, FRCSC 
• Don Thiwanka Wijeratne, MD, FRCPC

Esther Chin, MD, FRCSC

Assistant professor, global health lead, Department of Ob/Gyn, McMaster University 

Dr. Esther Chin and her team are facilitating mobile workshops in Tanzania to improve training in intrapartum management and C-section (CS) skills for generalist doctors and nurse-midwives in regions with the highest CS and iatrogenic fistula rates.

“The IDAC grant is critical in supporting logistics for the mobile workshops to overcome potential transportation or financial barriers to participation,” she says. “The support will also facilitate ongoing provision of obstetric services in tandem with improving obstetric training locally.”

As participants train future cadres following the mobile workshops, a cascade of ongoing sustainability building and skills standardization may occur in the regions. By building local sustainability, Dr. Chin hopes that the overall CS and surgical complication rates will be reduced.

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Dan Deckelbaum, MD, FRCSC

Director of surgical education and procedural skills, Steinberg Centre for Simulation and Interactive Learning, McGill University

Dr. Dan Deckelbaum and his team’s IDAC-funded project in Nepal, Palestine and Senegal builds local sustainability by training multidisciplinary teams in trauma care and disaster response.

“We create a sustainable training infrastructure by developing local trainers who will educate future health care professionals,” he says. 

“The IDAC grant will enable us to provide continuous mentorship and support to these trainers, enhancing their clinical and teaching skills. This will ensure they achieve autonomy and contribute to long-term improvements in medical education and health care in their communities. The grant will also allow us to expand the program to reach more low-resource settings.”

Learn more about the project on the Centre for Global Surgery website. 

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Megan Doherty, MD, FRCPC

Pediatric palliative access director – South Asia, Two Worlds Cancer Collaboration Foundation

In collaboration with Canadian and local partners, Dr. Megan Doherty and her team are developing an educational institute that will act as a foundation for palliative care education across South Asia. This work is part of the Sunflower Children's Network, a Two Worlds Cancer Collaboration initiative.

The IDAC grant will support Dr. Doherty’s team in developing and implementing educational modules for health workers at various levels, from community to basic to more advanced specialists. 

“The grant will support our project and enable our team to develop innovative virtual platforms,” she says. “This will expand access to training and mentorship, as well as secure sustainable palliative care across the region.”

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Sherif Emil, MD, FRCSC

Mirella and Lino Saputo Foundation chair in pediatric surgical education and patient and family-centered care, McGill University Faculty of Medicine

“Trauma is a leading cause of mortality for children over a year old within low- and middle-income countries and much of it is preventable if systematic care is employed and diffused throughout low-resource settings,” says Dr. Sherif Emil.

Dr. Emil’s IDAC-funded project will enhance the care of injured children in Brazil and sub-Saharan Africa by diffusing the Trauma Resuscitation in Kids (TRIK) simulation course to local health care providers. Efforts will be carried out in close collaboration with regional surgical organizations. 

“This will be a true partnership that will build local sustainability, one that will translate knowledge into life-saving interventions,” he says.

“At the conclusion of this project, each region will possess a cadre of instructors to propagate the TRIK course in their respective regions. It is a systematic way of attending to pediatric trauma patients.” 

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Shahrzad Joharifard, MD, FRCSC

Pediatric surgeon, BC Children's Hospital

To help fill a critical human resource gap in medical deserts with very few surgical training programs, Dr. Shahrzad Joharifard and her team are using IDAC funding to take VitalSurgery, a competency-based medical education training program for non-specialist medical doctors, to the next level.  

The training program, which was developed in collaboration with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and piloted in South Sudan, will be “launching a multi-cohort training program in the Central African Republic in collaboration with MSF, the Central African Republic Ministry of Health and the University of Bangui,” she says.

“The IDAC grant will provide us with crucial resources for this launch and for running the training program.”

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Patricia Livingston, MD, FRCPC

Professor of anesthesia, Dalhousie University

“Simulation is an effective medical education technique for bridging the gap between theory and practice and for promoting learning without risking harm to patients,” says Dr. Patricia Livingston. 

Dr. Livingston’s IDAC-funded project is focused on faculty development in simulation training in low-resource settings and removing barriers that are preventing widespread adoption. Vital Anaesthesia Simulation Training (VAST), a course she co-authored, is an example of that effort. 

“Through VAST, we can offer immersive and experiential simulation-based learning that can be delivered in any setting,” she says.  

The application of the course’s competency-based tool—informed by low-resource contexts—guides learning conversations and helps build local sustainability for high-quality global simulation-based education. 

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Sulaiman Nanji, MD, FRCSC

Associate professor of surgery and director of the Global Surgery Program, Queen's University

“Low- and middle-income countries lack the surgical capacity to contend with the growing burden of cancer care,” says Dr. Sulaiman Nanji. “West Africa is particularly affected, where limited cancer surgery is performed primarily by general surgeons without any subspecialty training.”

To address this challenge, Dr. Nanji and his team are using the IDAC funding to develop surgical oncology capacity in the region with the West African College of Surgeons, in partnership with the Global Oncology Group at Queen’s University.

“As a first step, we will co-create and implement a novel surgical oncology fellowship training program that is tailored to the needs and available resources in the region.”

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Saroj Niraula, MD, FRCPC

Medical oncologist and clinical associate professor, University of British Columbia and BC Cancer

Dr. Saroj Niraula’s IDAC-funded project in Napal tackles the country’s oncology challenges by fostering a knowledge exchange with BC Cancer. 

“Through this initiative, Nepali oncologists will gain experience in contemporary oncology practices in Canada. Upon returning, they will disseminate knowledge to local health care providers while gaining professional networks in Canada,” he says. 

“This bidirectional learning not only advances the skills of both parties, but it also creates a platform for long-term professional relationships.”

Dr. Niraula says that the IDAC grant enables this crucial training and knowledge sharing, bridging health care disparities and helping to establish sustainable oncology care in Nepal. 

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Tara Lynn Teshima, MD, FRCSC

Plastic and reconstructive surgeon, University of Toronto

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Tara Lynn Teshima’s IDAC-funded project resumed earlier this year. Dr. Teshima was awarded the IDAC grant in 2019; however, the project was put on hold for some time due to the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

IDAC funding is supporting Dr. Teshima and her team’s project in establishing a 3D craniofacial biomodel and an integrated teaching module for rapid practical surgical skills development that can be simply and effectively applied globally. 

Part of the Canada Ukraine Surgical Aid Program, since the project’s inception, the work has been integrated into an annual surgical skills lab, supplemented with didactic teaching and live surgery demonstrations in Ukraine.

“The IDAC grant has allowed us to teach the latest techniques and provide health care professionals in Ukraine with the right tools to perform surgeries and pass on their knowledge, expanding the country’s capacity for care,” she says.

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Andrew Toren, MD, FRCSC

Associate clinical professor and Glaucoma Fellowship director, Université Laval

In Ivory Coast, Dr. Andrew Toren and his team are training local eye surgeons and supporting local ophthalmologists in glaucoma surgical management training.

“If not treated, glaucoma leads to irreversible blindness. Good treatments are available but surgical care is challenging in the region, and ophthalmologists need to feel confident with the surgery and follow-up care,” he says.

Dr. Toren says that the IDAC grant will support ongoing training and visits by Canadian ophthalmologists to work alongside eye surgeons from West Africa. It will also support the opening of a new training centre for regional and visiting ophthalmologists.

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Don Thiwanka Wijeratne, MD, FRCPC

Associate professor, Queen's University

“Our project will build competence in clinical epidemiology in Sri Lanka,” says Dr. Don Thiwanka Wijeratne, while describing his IDAC-funded project. “This is an identified priority in the region as there is a lack of a structured postgraduate medical education curriculum and resources.”

Dr. Wijeratne explains that IDAC funding will help his team develop and implement a sustainable, hybrid curriculum that can be taught online and in person.

“This project will enable critical appraisal and scholarly output, as well as enable lifelong learners while optimizing health care delivery locally.”

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