What started out as a conversation over a glass of wine in the library of the Royal College of Physicians in late autumn 2019 has blossomed into an exciting major new partnership.

As part of BIA Council, I attended a reception for the East, Central and Southern Africa College of Physicians (ECSACOP) given by RCP Global. After various talks about the work that ECSACOP was doing, including delivery of their training programme, I struck up conversation with Dr Innocent Gangaidzo, then president of ECSACOP. I asked how could the BIA, as a very much UK-focused organisation, support our colleagues in the ECSACOP region? We bandied around a few ideas, exchanged contact details, and I went on to get the views of others from ECSACOP also present. In addition to seeing how we could help with delivery and support of their online training modules, I also mooted the idea of an exchange fellowship.

Then the pandemic struck and everything was put on hold – people were understandably preoccupied with a rather different but hugely challenging task, and when I should have been in the thick of it as an infectious disease physician, I was fighting my own battle with what turned out to be long COVID.

Fast forward 2 years and we re-ignited discussions, regularly meeting on Zoom across several countries and thousands of miles, with James Jowi now at the helm of ECSACOP and Tamara Phiri as registrar. From the BIA side it was myself and fellow infectious disease colleagues, Amandip Sahota and Bethany Davies.

ECSACOP told us what areas they felt they needed support with, and we came up with ideas and possible solutions. Knowing that everyone was time poor and resource stretched, we tried to work out how best we could use pre-existing learning materials rather than create new ones. The idea of an exchange fellowship seemed a wonderful way for resident doctors of both regions to experience medicine in a different setting while being immersed in a different culture, and the chance to forge new contacts for future collaborations. For our resident doctors, it also gives the opportunity to see many infectious diseases in their original setting.

Slowly this seed of an idea, conversations and brainstorming across 6,000 miles and seven countries has morphed into an exciting new collaborative partnership.

This year everything came to fruition, gathering momentum towards the summer when finally it felt like the groundwork was done and we were ready to launch. Being invited by ECSACOP to join them for the launch of the partnership and fellowship in Kampala was richly rewarding for me personally on so many levels. Meeting some of those I’d been working with on Zoom for the past years in the flesh was wonderful, cementing the BIA–ECSACOP relationship. On a personal level, getting to Kampala, speaking at the conference and just being there marked a huge milestone in my long COVID rollercoaster recovery (already in its fourth year). And being back in the thick of things was an exhilaration that I realised had been sorely missed the past years, when illness had completely up-ended my life.

Seeing Innocent again after nearly 5 years, we spoke about how that initial conversation in London had led to a whole new collaboration and the wonderful opportunity of an exchange fellowship.

ECSACOP was established in 2015 with the vision of ‘healthy communities through access to well-trained physicians’, and the knowledge that with better health comes better economic contribution. Their aim has been to address the critical workforce shortages by improving and standardising physician training across the region of 250 million people – which is currently served by only 1,200 physicians, well below the WHO-recommended physician-to-population ratio.

ECSACOP training programme and membership exams (similar to our MRCP(UK) in structure, but an exit exam for consultant status) have gone from strength to strength. What they achieved during the pandemic, when they had their first exams and graduates showed the determination and drive that ECSACOP has had to fulfil its vision. With headquarters based at the Infectious Diseases Institute in Kampala, they currently have 20 accredited training sites across the six member countries (Uganda, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe).

Their annual scientific meetings bring physicians from not just across the region but across the globe to share research findings and best practice on a diverse array of topics. The recent ninth annual conference that I attended in Kampala had the theme ‘Towards equitable, collaborative, and enhanced healthcare delivery in sub-Saharan Africa’, and saw the graduation of their third cohort of resident doctors. Since ECSACOP’S inception, RCP Global has supported its development both financially and with mentorship, technical advice and governance.

For BIA, this new collaboration represents an exciting new venture beyond the shores of the UK. Nurturing such partnerships reaps such rich rewards on both sides, and, for resident doctors, connections forged at that level often lead to other things further down the line. Currently BIA has the funds to run the fellowship every 2 years, but is hoping to secure funding from others so that it could be run annually. I fully echo the words below from ECSACOP, which are very much in keeping with the ethos of BIA:

‘The BIA and ECSACOP collaboration and fellowship represents partnership and an exchange of knowledge.

Although ECSACOP and BIA operate in very different settings, they face shared problems in understanding and combating a wide variety of infections. They also have shared priorities in shaping learning and teaching in order to diagnose and manage infections effectively.

The bringing together of these two organisations, including their respective physicians and trainees, opens up a channel for a free flow of learning and experiences between the two groups.

The student exchange programme in particular gives resident doctors the opportunity to have a real-life experience and appreciation of practice in a setting other than their own. Besides the clinical exposure, it also brings them to meet and appreciate the people and culture who shape the study of infectious diseases.

This collaboration is the beginning of shared growth and many milestones yet to be achieved by the two institutions.’

See pictured above at the launch of the exchange fellowship.