A collaborative meeting was held between a delegation from the Ethiopian Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ESOG) and their counterparts from the American Congress Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) on December 4 and 5, 2015. The joint meeting was held on issues of collaboration and experience sharing for the realization of the Ethiopian College of Obstetricians and Gynecologist (ECOG).

“We had a great discussion and dialogue and are well positioned to move forward in a meaningful way,” reads the email shared to our newsletter by ACOG’s team. “ESOG and ACOG will work together on this priority in 2 – 5 years.”

The joint communique also shares the immediate plan ahead. Accordingly, Dr. Dereje Negussie ESOG’s president and Dr. Vineeta Gupta from ACOG will serve as point persons. There will be a captain from ACOG and one from ESOG assigned to each major area of work. Each Co-Captain will be responsible for completing a draft work plan for their designated theme.

During the process of completing the draft work plan, the Co-Captains should estimate the resources that might be needed so craft preliminary budgets can be drafted.

Once completed, the draft work plan for each theme will be submitted to the organization’s point person for compilation.

“Ideally, by January 15th, 2016, we should have a Draft Work Plan and Preliminary Budget,” reads the

Communique.

Moreover, ESOG’s Dr. Mengistu Hailemariam and Dr. Yirgu Gebrehiwot will be captaining the residence program along with ACOG’s Jan Chapin. Dr. Abdulfetah Abudulkadir from ESOG and Dr. Vineeta Gupta and Dr. Barbara Levy of ACOG will serve as captains of the Continuous Medical Education (CME) theme.  

The new College’s Journal will be headed by Dr. Yirgu, the editor-in-chief of The Ethiopian Journal of Reproductive Health, ESOG’s biannual publication and Dr. Bert Peterson of ACOG. The theme of Individual Certification, on the other hand, is to be headed by Dr. Dereje and Jan.