Gifting Knowledge to Pediatric Surgeons in Low and Middle-income Countries

Thursday, January 21, 2021 - 14:41

Taylor & Francis are proud to announce the collaboration of Dr Sherif Emil, of Montreal Children’s Hospital, Canada, and Dr Marc Levitt, of George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington DC, who have teamed up to gift copies of their pediatric surgery textbooks to surgeons in low and middle-income countries. To date, surgeons and trainees at 150 institutions in more than 40 countries have benefited from this program of pediatric surgical knowledge capacity-building. The two surgeons, who are strongly engaged in global pediatric surgery, are honoured and privileged to share their academic work with physicians in developing countries, in order to help them in their mission of attending to the surgical care of children.

In these difficult times of social distancing and restricted travel, when a key component of their international outreach is not possible, Dr. Emil and Dr. Levitt hope to still empower surgeons through knowledge-sharing that improves the surgical care of children. When you save a child, you do not just save a life. You save a lifetime. And they hope their gifts will help surgeons save many lifetimes.

This project was made possible due to generous support from the Mirella and Lino Saputo Foundation in Canada and the Colorectal Teams Overseas Foundation in the United States (CTOVERSEAS.ORG), and that of Taylor and Francis. The Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation (https://fondationduchildren.com/en) and the McGill University Health Centre provided important logistical support.

150 copies have been distributed so far, reaching 150 institutions across more than 40 countries!

A note from Sherif:

“A highlight of 2020 for Marc A. Levitt and I has been the ability to share our recent pediatric surgery textbooks published by CRC Press with pediatric surgical trainees and consultants around the world, especially those training and practicing in low- and middle-income countries. We feel truly blessed to have had the resources to send gratis copies of our books to 150 institutions in 44 low- and middle-income countries so far.

From Mongolia to Peru, from South Africa to North Macedonia, from the Philippines to the Dominican Republic, the smiles of trainees and surgeons who have received these books have brightened our hearts. We may speak in different tongues, hold different beliefs, and work in different environments, but we are all one community with one goal -- providing children with the best pediatric surgical care possible.”

The program is still open. If you are training or practicing in an LMIC institution which has not yet received copies, please send Sherif Emil a private message on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, and he will send you the eligibility criteria and application.

For press enquiries, please contact:
Kristie Rees
[email protected]

 

About the Authors:

Sherif Emil, MD,CM  is the Mirella & Lino Saputo Foundation Chair in Pediatric Surgical Education & Patient and Family-Centered Care, Associate Chair for Education & Departmental Citizenship, and Professor of Pediatric Surgery and Pediatrics, Department of Pediatric Surgery, McGill University Faculty of Medicine. He is also the Director of the Harvey E. Beardmore Division of Pediatric Surgery at the Montreal Children’s Hospital, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, Canada.

Marc Levitt, MD, is Chief of Colorectal and Pelvic Reconstruction Children’s National Hospital and Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, in Washington DC.  The Division of Colorectal and Pelvic Reconstruction aligns specialists within gastroenterology, colorectal, pediatric surgery, urology and gynecology to create a comprehensive treatment program that assists children with complex colorectal disorders.