FRRHH Members
Meet FRRHH's Inaugural Members
The Faculty of Remote, Rural and Humanitarian Healthcare (FRRHH) is proud to introduce and showcase its first Members and Fellows.
The FRRHH Membership and Fellowship awards professionalises and recognises the excellence of healthcare professionals working within the field of remote, rural and humanitarian healthcare.
The inaugural Members and Fellows have displayed exceptional dedication and expertise, embodying the spirit of the Faculty's mission to elevate the standards of healthcare in remote and challenging environments. Meet the Fellows here.
To learn more about our Inaugural Members, click on their profiles below.
Dr Hussaini Abba Disa
Occupation: Dental Surgeon
Country where I practice my profession: Yobe State, Northeastern Nigeria
Noteworthy contributions to Remote, Rural & Humanitarian Healthcare:
For the past 12 years, I have dedicated my skills and expertise as a dental surgeon and a disaster risk reduction manager to addressing the profound healthcare challenges in northeastern Nigeria, which have been worsened by the 14-year-old Boko Haram insurgency. This prolonged conflict has not only severely damaged the region's healthcare infrastructure but has also had serious repercussions on the economy and education.
One of my significant contributions has been my active involvement in numerous medical outreaches to hard-to-reach areas deeply affected by the Boko Haram insurgency. These areas face significant barriers to accessing basic healthcare services, making it essential to bring medical assistance directly to the communities in need. Through these outreach programs, our goal is to provide the best and most affordable healthcare possible, ensuring that even those in the most remote and rural areas receive the attention they require. Read more >
What Membership means to me personally:
This Membership empowers me to be part of a collective force, driving innovation, sharing knowledge, and advocating for the health and well-being of those who need it the most. It is a privilege and a responsibility that fuels my passion to make a lasting impact on the lives of individuals and communities, ensuring that no one is left behind in the pursuit of quality healthcare.
Dr Ibanga Ekong
Occupation: Consultant Public Health Physician; Health Impact and Worker Welfare Lead
Country where I practice my profession: Based in Nigeria, but with global practice wherever Shell locations are.
Noteworthy contributions to Remote, Rural & Humanitarian Healthcare:
Ibanga has designed and monitored the implementation of several project Medical Emergency Response strategies in remote and hard-to-reach locations, including vessels and rigs that are deep offshore. Additionally, in the spirit of care for people, he is a Worker Welfare champion in the energy industry which entails assuring labour rights, living, and working conditions.
What Membership means to me personally:
Joining FRRHH signifies my commitment to excellence, continuous improvement, and networking within the remote, rural and humanitarian healthcare field.
Dr Paing Zaw
Occupation: Government Medical Officer, specializing in general surgery
Country where I practice my profession: Myanmar
Noteworthy contributions to Remote, Rural & Humanitarian Healthcare:
In the first year following the coup, I served as a volunteer surgeon in a temporary and makeshift hospital, tirelessly working to save lives and provide medical care to those in need. The next year, my team and I re-established a temporary ethnic teaching hospital in a rural health clinic setting, catering to the medical needs of the local population. I also conducted training courses for local youth villagers, empowering them as community health workers to reduce delays and facilitate better healthcare referral.
What Membership means to me personally:
My passion for surgery led me to pursue further education and training in this remote, rural, and conflict zone. I have proven to be deserving as a surgeon with resilience in the face of hardship. This prestigious Membership award signifies my remarkable journey, telling a heart-touching story to my son and representing dedication to my beloved parents, wife, and son as a milestone.
Dr Phanuel Tawanda Gwinji
Occupation: Medical Emergency Response Team (MERT) Medical Officer
Countries where I practice my profession: Zimbabwe, South Sudan, Somalia, currently based in Afghanistan
Noteworthy contributions to Remote, Rural & Humanitarian Healthcare:
I have in the past few years been serving in humanitarian contexts, remote and hardship/ conflict duty stations, providing mission medical support, responding to medical, trauma and public health emergencies, rehabilitating health facilities destroyed by various natural and technological hazards (e.g. floods and conflicts) to aid in provision of primary health care services, nutritional stabilization, and disease surveillance, among other activities such as conducting medical and casualty evacuations from point of injury or lower-level facilities to specialized hospitals, and readiness for mass casualty incidents in collaboration with other stakeholders involved in humanitarian programming. I have also been involved in mentoring, coaching, and capacity building activities.
What Membership means to me personally:
Membership of the Faculty of Remote Rural and Humanitarian Healthcare to me means being part of a community committed to alleviating human suffering wherever it exists and removing the barriers to accessing healthcare in underserved areas.
Mr Andrew North
Occupation: Intensive Care Paramedic, State Manager Clinical and Risk
Countries where I practice my profession: Australia and India
Noteworthy contributions to Remote, Rural & Humanitarian Healthcare:
Deploying and setting an emergency medical response service and primary health clinic in a remote town in NSW Australia post its devastation from an inland tsunami. This event destroyed over 80% of the township. We treated 160+ patients and minimised impact to surrounding areas health facilities by providing prolong field care.
Currently helping to build capability and capacity of a NGO for domestic deployable healthcare.
What Membership means to me personally:
Being elevated to a Member of the Faculty I see as an acknowledgment of over 30 years service, providing health and security to communities in their times of need.
Mr Prashanth Ramaraj
Occupation: General Surgery Trainee
Countries where I practice my profession: Scotland / UK. Intending to work in South Africa and India.
Noteworthy contributions to Remote, Rural & Humanitarian Healthcare:
I am a former army officer working in remote and austere settings at reach, I continue to train army medics in necessary surgical skills as an NSOC instructor for operating at reach. Separately, I worked with a trauma surgical team managing Yemeni civilians with conflict related traumatic injuries and published an epidemiological study to highlight their plight and help to advise on health service response to provide definitive care to these such casualties.
What Membership means to me personally:
I am delighted to be involved with a Faculty of likeminded individuals who practice off the beaten path!
