Published: June 1, 2018

International Advisory Board (IAB) Chair election

The AAO-HNS call for nominees for the next Chair of the International Advisory Board (IAB) was highly successful and resulted in the submission of several highly qualified candidates for the position.


The AAO-HNS call for nominees for the next Chair of the International Advisory Board (IAB) was highly successful and resulted in the submission of several highly qualified candidates for the position. The IAB Executive Committee selected Sady Selaimen da Costa, MD, PhD, Porto Alegre, Brazil, and Titus Sunday Ibekwe, MD, MPH, Ibadan, Nigeria, as the candidates for Chair. The election will be held at the AAO-HNSF 2018 Annual Meeting & OTO Experience in Atlanta, Georgia.

Sady Selaimen da Costa, MD, PhD

Sadyda Costa

My name is Sady Selaimen da Costa, and I am an otolaryngologist living in Porto Alegre in southern Brazil. Currently, I am the Chairman of Otolaryngology at the University of Rio Grande do Sul.

I have had the privilege to serve as Vice Chair of the International Advisory Board (IAB) during the last two years, when we set specific goals that I intend to keep pursuing as the Chair of the IAB:

  • Support mission to be a global educational organization
  • Give voice to ENTs worldwide within the AAO-HNS
  • Foster the development of a global otolaryngology community
  • Increase participation of non-Americans in the activities of the Academy
  • Enhance exchange among global ENT societies
  • After this great experience, and as Past President of the two largest Brazilian ENT-related societies, I had the opportunity of experiencing many aspects of the associative life: administration, scientific, educational, and political.

I have lectured in the last years in various and contrasting countries: Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Peru, United States, Lebanon, France, Switzerland, Senegal, Morocco, Portugal, England, Spain, and Japan. I have also served as a volunteer in a charity medical mission in Senegal (Africa) and collaborated with many educational projects with colleagues in India.

These wonderful experiences have created a network of connections with colleagues from all around the planet and consistently enhanced my understanding of the world mechanics and real life. Furthermore, they have nourished the awareness of the importance of international cooperation and the never-ending efforts to build a better and fair world.

All these principles are confluent to the notion that the IAB can really make the difference!

Titus Sunday Ibekwe, MD, MPH

Ibekwe

My vision is to build a virile International Advisory Board (IAB) and consolidate on the impacts of global otolaryngology for the AAO-HNS. This shall be achieved through regular consultations, feedback from the stakeholders, and evaluation/re-evaluation of the needs assessments and prompt presentations of outcome to the IAB for informed decision and policy implementation. Each member country of the AAO-HNS shall be treated according to her global needs.

Truly global AAO-HNS

We shall strengthen AAO-HNS collaboration with regional organizations to make the AAO-HNS more visible and increase international membership. The list of countries which are NOT corresponding societies to AAO-HNS/F shall be compiled, and efforts geared toward making them members. A special sub-committee comprising secretaries of the International Corresponding Societies and member countries shall be constituted toward this cause. They shall be charged with aggressive marketing of the AAO-HNS/F brand to ensure that non-member countries in their regions are convinced to join.

Capacity building

As the Chair of the IAB, education and skill acquisition shall be given priority to foster sustainable goals on the various regions of the world, especially the developing countries. The costs and risks of travels by volunteer members of AAO-HNS/F shall be minimized if the indigenous health workers are maximally empowered during medical outreach to cater for subsequent needs of their populace.

We shall strengthen advocacy for AAO-HNS/F global otolaryngology support by international organizations such as the WHO, UN, UNICEF, etc., without conflicting interest(s).

Finally, we shall build on achievements of our predecessors and entrench principle-oriented leadership.


More from June 2018 – Vol. 37, No. 5