International Women's Day and Women's History Month

March 8 was International Women’s Day and March is celebrated as Women’s History Month. In honor of this, we are highlighting a female leader and mentor from our three primary country programs - Nepal, Ethiopia and Ghana.

Dr. Reeta Gurung

From Nepal, HCP recognizes Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Reeta Gurung. Dr. Gurung operates as both a clinician and a manager in her current role as CEO, and she has taken Tilganga to new heights. She has also been named one of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness' 2017 Eye Health Heroes.

Her leadership and mentorship set a tone of gender inclusion across all of Tilganga’s clinical and training programs. Dr. Gurung is a member of Nepal’s National Gender and Eye Health Group, a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional group that brings together people and institutions from both public and private sectors to promote gender equity as it relates to eye care in Nepal. Additionally, she was lead author on a research study conducted in 2007 on cataract surgical outcomes and gender-specific barriers to services, both at Tilganga and during outreach surgical campaigns.

Dr. Menen Ayalew Shibeshi

From Ethiopia, HCP recognizes Menelik II Referral Hospital's Head of Ophthalmology, Dr. Menen Ayalew Shibeshi. In addition to being the head of her department, Dr. Menen is one of only 15 Cornea Subspecialists in the country. In fact, she does more cornea transplants than any other doctor within Ethiopia!

Dr. Naa Tagoe

From Ghana, HCP recognizes Residency Program Coordinator at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr. Naa Tagoe. As an educator, Dr. Tagoe serves as a role model for female Medical Students and Residents looking to enter into the field of ophthalmology. Her specific interests lie in Glaucoma and Neuro-ophthalmology, and she will be participating in a 5-month Neuro-ophthalmology subspecialty training at HCP's flagship partner, the Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology, later this year.