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History of AfHNS

In 2005 there were no specialist head and neck surgeons in Sub-Saharan Africa north of South Africa. By 2018 there were 14 fully trained head and neck surgeons in 11 Sub-Saharan African countries who had completed a full year of training through the University of Cape Town Karl Storz Head and Neck Fellowship (12) and the PAACS/Hopkins Head and Neck Fellowship in Cameroon (2). This group of head and neck surgeons established the African Head and Neck Society (AfHNS) in Rwanda in 2016.

Mission of the AfHNS

1. Improve outcomes of patients with diseases of the head and neck in Africa through prevention, clinical excellence, teaching, training and research, and by promoting the highest professional and ethical standards
2. Coordinate and advance training and education of those engaged in the management of patients with diseases of the head and neck in Africa
3. Promote friendship and collaboration among those engaged in the management of patients with diseases of the head and neck in Africa

Activities of AfHNS

• African Head and Neck Virtual Tumor Board
  • 90 min ZOOM meeting of clinical cases from around Africa with discussion
  • Every 2nd Friday of the month at 19h00 Nairobi time
  • If you would like to present clinical cases, contact Chege Macharia (Convener)
  • Next meeting
    • Friday 8 April 2022: 19h00 Kenya time; 18h00 South Africa time; 16h00 Ghana time
    • Zoom Meeting:

• Copenhagen International Head & Neck Ultrasound Course, Denmark: (23-24th June 2022) Sponsorship available for 2 AfHNS delegates
• 4th AfHNS conference: June 24, 25 2022
  • Hotel King Fahd Palace, Dakar, Senegal
  • Joint Congress with Senegalese ENT Society (SSORL) and French-speaking countries in Africa Otorhinolaryngological Society (SORLAF)
  • Contact at: secretariatorlfann@gmail.com
• AfHNS Head and Neck Surgery Fellowships
  • 1-2yr clinical fellowships being planned at present
  • Likely centres: Senegal, Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Egypt and South Africa
  • Currently unfunded
  • AfHNS fellowship: A model to improve access to head and neck cancer care in Africa and developing countries
  • Await further information

Past activities of AfHNS

• May 2019: Harare, Zimbabwe; 3rd AfHNS conference, 3rd AfHNS Head and Neck cadaver dissection workshop with AfHNS faculty, and ultrasound course (AAOHNS report), (Video)
• Dec 2018: Cape Town, South Africa: IFOS “Teaching the teachers”
  • Head & neck ultrasound course by American College of Surgeons (Video)
  • Advanced head & neck cadaver dissection course by IFOS (Video)
  • AfHNS guidelines for thyroid tumours in resource constrained settings (Video)
• May 2018: Accra, Ghana; 2nd AfHNS Head and Neck cadaver dissection workshop with AfHNS faculty, Head & Neck Ultrasound course, and 2nd AfHNS conference (Article in ENT & Audiology News)
• May 2017: Kenya: Head and Neck cadaver dissection workshop in Nairobi with AfHNS faculty, followed by 1st AfHNS conference in Mombasa
• June 2016: Kigali, Rwanda: Establishment of AfHNS

Office Bearers of AfHNS

2021/22

• President: Evelyne Diom
• Secretary: Mohammed Garba
• President Elect: Kenneth Baidoo
• Treasurer: Jeff Otiti
• Past President: Anna Konney

2019/20/21

• President: Anna Konney
• Secretary: Marco Faniriko
• Present Elect: Evelyne Diom
• Treasurer: Kenneth Baidoo
• Past President: Paul Onakoya

2018/19

• President: Paul Onakoya
• Secretary: Joyce Aswani
• Treasurer: Kenneth Baidoo
• President elect: Anna Konney
• Past President: Jeff Otiti

2017/18

• President: Jeff Otiti
• Secretary: Joyce Aswani
• Treasurer: Kenneth Baidoo
• President elect: Paul Onakoya
• Past President: Rajab Mugabo

2016/7

• President: Rajab Mugabo
• Secretary: Joyce Aswani
• Treasurer: Kenneth Baidoo
• President elect: Jeff Otiti
• Past President: Johan Fagan

African Head and Neck Fellowship Programmes

• University of Cape Town Karl Storz Fellowship in Advanced Head and Neck Surgery: This is a 1 year clinical hands-on funded fellowship. Contact: Farhana Hassan
• PAACS/Johns Hopkins Head and Neck Fellowship : This is a 1 year clinical hands-on funded fellowship (https://www.paacs.net/involved/become-a-resident/cameroon-head-and-neck-fellowship/) Note: Fellowship suspended in December 2018 due to security issues in Cameroon
• AfHNS fellowships being planned for Senegal, Ghana, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya and South Africa

Organisations to contact about surgical outreach training in head and neck surgery

• American Academy of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) Humanitarian committee
• American Head and Neck Society (AHNS) Global Outreach Committee

Useful Open Access Resources

• AfHNS Clinical Practice Guidelines for Head & Neck Cancers in Developing Countries and Limited Resource settings
• Open Access Atlas of Head and Neck Operative Surgery
• COVID-19 ENT/Otolaryngology Guidelines
• Recommendations for head and neck surgical oncology practice in a setting of acute severe resource constraint during the COVID-19 pandemic: an international consensus
• How to run a Head and Neck Dissection Course
• Humanitarian missions in Africa: a critical review of what does and doesn’t work
• ENT Outreach in Africa: Rules of Engagement
• Global Code of Conduct for Research in Resource-Poor Settings
• Burden of Head and Neck Cancer in Africa
• Global Burden of Head and Neck Cancer: Economic Consequences, Health, and the Role of Surgery
• Head and neck surgical antibiotic prophylaxis in resource-constrained settings
• AfHNS fellowship: A model to improve access to head and neck cancer care in Africa and developing countries

Funding opportunities for additional training

• Commonwealth Medical Fellowships: http://cscuk.dfid.gov.uk/apply/medical-fellowships/
• AHNS Endocrine Section Developing World Female Travel Grant (www.ahns.info/endocrine/developing-world-female-travel-grant)