About Us
Collective Brilliance Unleashed
The South-South Medical Alliance establishes itself as a forum for health care providers in the Global South- as an engine to drive conversations and change across the developing world’s healthcare systems.
We are not an aid organization; we are mutual aid facilitators.
We aim to connect regions with similar resource constraints but novel ways of organizing their practice of medicine.
A platform for exchanging medical expertise, fostering innovation and organizational strengthening.
Our Story
Children of the Global South, our team is made up of Zero/1st generation physicians who appreciate the inherent strengths from which we originate. Each of our founding members have intimate connections to and extensive work in the developing world. During our respective careers, we found that developing regions tend to face similar challenges while inventing novel ways of tackling them each time. Often, we see silos of excellence throughout the developing world; the common motif we found was communicating with Western based aid organizations without engaging neighbors doing the same work. We see a glaring gap: the Global South does not engage with its members in a way that fosters mutual growth and collaboration. This alliance is a comprehensive endeavor to engage across borders, build collective human capital, and lead the Global South into a sustainable, healthier future
Meet The Team
Dr. Betel (Betty) Yibrehu is a General Surgery resident at the University of Toronto. She obtained her M.D. in the Community and Urban Health Track from The George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, D.C.. Prior to that she studied Global Health at the University of Toronto. She recently completed a year away from clinical residency to work in Nigeria as the global oncology research fellow with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and the African Research Group for Oncology. She is applying for fellowship in surgical oncology with a special interest in colorectal surgery. In addition to her interest in global surgery, since starting residency she has co-founded UpSurge, a diversity in surgery initiative within the University of Toronto’s Department of Surgery.
Dr. Mallika Manyapu is an emergency medicine physician and currently a Global Health fellow at George Washington University in Washington DC. She has specific experience in workforce training, systems strengthening, and capacity building in low-resource and humanitarian settings.
Dr. Amir Lotfy Rashed is currently a Fellow of Disaster Medicine and Global Health at the University of Texas, Southwestern where he is engaged in Disaster Resiliency and mentoring research initiatives in India. Graduating with his medical doctorate from the George Washington University, he went on to complete residency at The Albert Einstein College of Medicine Montefiore/Jacobi in the Bronx, New York City. He has published works in the Journal of Global Health and presented his research at avenues such as the World Health Organization's Emergency Medical Teams scientific congress. His focus is on capacity building and institutional development in the Middle East and Africa.