International Health
The University of Toronto Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology is proud to be a partner in numerous international health initiatives. Through partnership with our local counterparts, we aim to improve the provision of obstetric and gynecologic care in these regions, to participate in novel research and to provide opportunities for medical and cultural exchange for our students and faculty. Opportunities may be available for medical students, residents and faculty to participate in clinical and research work and exchanges.
We are currently involved in work in the following locations:
Kenya
Zimbabwe
Scholarship Opportunities
The Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada (SOGC) also has a strong tradition of international health work and provides scholarships for students and residents pursuing international health work. Please contact the SOGC directly for more information about these awards.
The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) has numerous grants and awards to support their fellows in their clinical and research work. Numerous of these may be applicable to supporting international health initiatives. Please contact the RCPSC directly for more information about these grants.
Kenya
In late 2006, The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at The University of Toronto entered into a partnership with The Department of Reproductive Health at Moi University in Eldoret, Kenya. This partnership, now known as the ASANTE Reproductive Health Initiative, is in collaboration with the University of Toronto’s Centre for International Health. It is being facilitated through the ASANTE Consortium, a longstanding partnership between Moi University and other North American academic institutions, led by the University of Indiana (IU-Kenya partnership). To date, the ASANTE Consortium has been an extremely successful partnership involving Moi’s departments of general medicine, pediatrics and HIV/AIDS (including the Academic Model for the Prevention and Treatment of HIV/AIDS, AMPATH). It is anticipated that the involvement of U of T’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology will enhance the partnership expansion through Moi’s major departments of clinical activity, teaching and research.
The goal of this partnership is to support the existing infrastructure and to improve the quality of women’s and reproductive health care in western Kenya through the development of a post-graduate program of study and sustaining research collaboration. This very exciting initiative will strive to develop academic links between the staff at the two institutions via faculty exchanges and curriculum development. Research collaborations will be a key part of this endeavour as well as programs to build up the services available at Moi and the capacity of their Department of Reproductive Health. Areas identified with our Kenyan partners to be a priority for reproductive health in the region include:
- The provision of excellent maternal and neonatal care, including extending into rural areas.
- Improved detection and management of cervical cancer and precancerous lesions, including potential use of the HPV vaccine.
- Care around Obstetrical Fistula, including primary and secondary prevention as well as repair.
This program includes a bilateral student exchange program, at both the undergraduate and postgraduate level, in addition to staff exchanges. As the program grows over time, it is anticipated that opportunities for exchange, research and growth of the partnership and programs at both universities will be realized. Descriptions of elective opportunities for medical students and residents are attached (elective rotation and resident rotation). At this time, these opportunities are for students from ASANTE-partner schools only with preference given to students from ASANTE Reproductive Health schools. In order to maintain a fair process for all applicants, an application is required for both undergraduate and postgraduate students, which is attached (application). For additional information about the department’s international health opportunities not found on this site, please contact Dr. Rachel Spitzer Academic Coordinator of International Health Initiatives.
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Zimbabwe
For the past 13 years Dr. Paul Thistle, a graduate of the University of Toronto Obstetrics and Gynecology Program and Adjunct Professor in the Department, has been Medical Director of the Salvation Army Howard Hospital in Glendale, Zimbabwe. This 140-bed hospital, located in a rural area about 1 hour’s drive northwest of the Zimbabwean capital of Harare, is the primary referral centre for the surrounding rural population of approximately 250,000. Zimbabwe is a country of approximately 17 million located in Southern Africa. Zimbabwe unfortunately suffers a high burden of HIV disease, with approximately 20% of the adult population living with HIV.
Howard Hospital has a busy obstetrical service, performing approximately 2,100 deliveries/year in addition to general adult and pediatric services. There is further a strong program for counseling, testing and treatment of HIV, in particular for the pregnant population as well as for the general population.
There is considerable research ongoing at Howard Hospital, in particular in the prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV as well as in other areas of maternal/child health care and tropical medicine. Dr. Thistle partners in research with University of Toronto faculty from the departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Infectious Diseases, Microbiology and Family and Community Medicine as well as local faculty from the University of Harare in Zimbabwe.
Many students and residents have had the opportunity to participate in wonderful clinical and research electives at Howard Hospital over the years. A list of expected skills at the completion of a resident elective are provided. Please contact Dr. Thistle directly at for more information about an experience at Howard Hospital.
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