TAAPP celebrates 20 years of international collaboration
At the beginning of 2023, the Toronto Addis Ababa Psychiatry Project (TAAPP) celebrated its 20th anniversary. As a partnership between University of Toronto and the Department of Psychiatry at Addis Ababa University, TAAPP’s mission has been a workable, effective model for training medical specialists in Ethiopia.
Limited access to mental health services and inadequate numbers of the specialists needed to deliver these services posed a serious challenge for the Ethiopian healthcare system. Ethiopian doctors sent abroad to train as specialists often did not return. In the circumstances, leaders and care providers in Ethiopia knew that training mental health specialists at home was essential to reverse a brain drain.
TAAPP has assisted in the training of over 100 psychiatrists, making better care available to thousands of Ethiopians. The development of thriving psychiatry training programs and hospital communities has helped increase the retention rate of these new Ethiopia psychiatrists to 95%. Six Departments of Psychiatry have opened outside Addis Ababa, and mental health care is becoming fully integrated into general health care, necessitating mental health training of all health care workers.
TAAPP, like all global collaborations, is mutually beneficial. The University of Toronto’s faculty and learners have benefited from working and learning alongside their colleagues at Addis Ababa University. Over 60 UofT faculty psychiatrists and 34 UofT residents have travelled to Ethiopia to teach for a month, gaining experience in curriculum development, culturally adapted treatment, and working in international settings.
TAAPP’s methodology and success inspired the Toronto Addis Ababa Academic Collaboration (TAAAC). This broader collaboration follows the model established by TAAPP to assist Ethiopian leaders in implementing solutions to some of their nation’s most pressing challenges through training and education. TAAAC encompasses a variety of programs and areas of expertise, from dentistry to engineering.
In January, faculty members from the University of Toronto and Addis Ababa University gathered to celebrate the program’s 20th anniversary. Current TAAPP Director Dr. Lisa Andermann was joined by faculty members and leaders Dr. Clare Pain, Dr. Brian Hodges, Dr. Phil Klassen, Marci Rose, and Dr. Cynthia Whitehead, Director, Wilson Centre, and Dr. Dawit Wondimagegn, Ethiopian Director of TAAAC. They also attended a celebration honouring the retirement of esteemed colleagues and TAAPP co-founders, Professors Mesfin Araya and Atalay Alem.
“TAAPP has proven that building homegrown expertise through international collaboration can help build a flourishing mental health community,” says Dr. Lisa Andermann, Director, TAAPP. “TAAPP will continue to build a future where Ethiopians have access to the best mental health care available and provide an example for other initiatives in the field of psychiatry and beyond.”
