Since 2018, the Mark Wainberg Fellowship Programme, an initiative of the IAS Educational Fund, has provided expert training in medical management of people living with HIV. It aims to contribute to improving HIV service delivery on the African continent and in Asia-Pacific. Meet a change maker who has completed the programme and hear about the personal impact of the fellowship.
“The fellowship has provided me with a unique opportunity to develop my knowledge.”
Kick Kayembe Kakese, Democratic Republic of Congo, Class of 2020
I joined the Mark Wainberg Fellowship Programme in 2020 and completed my training at Saint-Antoine Hospital in Paris, France, and the Centre for Infectious and Tropical Diseases at Fann University in Dakar, Senegal. Before joining the fellowship, I worked as a doctor at MSF in Kinshasa where I provided care to people living with HIV. I was also part of the team that travelled to other African settings to provide capacity-development opportunities to healthcare workers. The fellowship has provided me with a unique opportunity to develop my knowledge. I was also able to foster my teaching skills and, through participation at IAS-led conferences, to network with leading scientists. Furthermore, it enabled me to be involved and independently carry out research, which was presented at international conferences and published in a peer-reviewed journal.
After completing the fellowship, I returned to work at MSF, but this time as international staff in a position that allows me to bring my expertise to different challenging humanitarian settings. I am currently in Bangui, Central African Republic, where I am working at a local hospital, ensuring quality of care, mentoring and coaching of new doctors and managing research projects. I have also been appointed as the focal point on bacterial infections, which was made possible by the courses I took during my placement in Paris.