15 Years of Developing Emergency Medicine Education in Ethiopia: The Toronto Addis Ababa Academic Collaboration in Emergency Medicine (TAAAC-EM)

Over the past 15 years, the Toronto Addis Ababa Academic Collaboration in Emergency Medicine (TAAAC-EM) has continuously supported the growth and development of emergency medicine in Ethiopia.

Established in 2010 as a partnership between the University of Toronto and Addis Ababa University (AAU), TAAAC-EM strives to foster the development of Ethiopia’s first emergency medicine residency program and aid in the education and graduation of emergency medicine leaders at AAU and Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital (TASH), who will then train future generations and increase emergency medicine expertise throughout Ethiopia and East Africa.

Every year, three times a year, multiple faculty members and a senior postgraduate resident from the Department of Family and Community Medicine (DFCM) travel to teach and clinically mentor Ethiopian residents for four weeks at a time. These trips cover a longitudinal, three-year curriculum via didactic teaching sessions, seminars, point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS), bedside simulation and more. In addition to the curriculum, TAAAC-EM also supports Ethiopian emergency medicine physicians with curriculum design and development, operational research and support, virtual mentorship, and continuing professional development and leadership initiatives. Currently, there are more than 60 emergency medicine residents training at AAU, with additional residents also training at seven other postgraduate sites throughout Ethiopia.

The importance of TAAAC-EM and the people who continue its mission

Dr. Julia Wytsma, MD, CCFP-EM, and Dr. Indy Sahota, MD, MSc, CCFP-EM, have been invaluable team members within TAAAC-EM as co-director and POCUS lead, as well as within the DFCM as lecturers.

Today, Dr. Wytsma is co-director of TAAAC-EM, but she first participated in TAAAC-EM in 2013 during her CCFP-EM fellowship at the University of Toronto.

“The initial experience was incredibly rewarding,” she says. “I returned several times as a staff physician, taking on both teaching and research roles, as well as administrative projects.”

Later in 2020, Dr. Wytsma joined the TAAAC-EM executive as the research liaison lead before stepping into her current role of co-director, alongside Dr. Alexandra Stefan, in 2023.

“TAAAC-EM has offered me invaluable opportunities in teaching, research and leadership while providing support by outstanding mentors along the way.”  says Dr. Wytsma.

For Dr. Sahota, his TAAAC-EM journey began in 2023 as the POCUS lead, but he has always had an interest in international health work.

“I do international health work in various other places, but I like working with TAAAC-EM because it’s a model that I believe in,” he says. “They believe in capacity building and maintaining equitable partnerships and have done an amazing job in developing and growing the emergency medicine specialty in Ethiopia.”

Dr. Sahota also notes that having built the curriculum and specialty from “the ground up,” TAAAC-EM has been successful in shifting responsibility to local staff over time and allowing the program to “flourish under local leadership.”

“[TAAAC-EM] has continued to evolve with time, working closely with EM leadership in Ethiopia to make sure they’re delivering content that is requested locally,” says Dr. Sahota. “I love the focus on local capacity building, and they’ve demonstrated their ability to do this successfully time and time again over the last 15 years.”

When asked about their most memorable moment with TAAAC-EM, both Dr. Wytsma and Dr. Sahota note the passion and commitment that goes into the TAAAC-EM partnership.

“A personal standout memory for me has been the enthusiasm and knowledge base of the local staff in Addis,” says Dr. Sahota. “Despite limited resources at their disposal, and an incredibly challenging work environment, I’m always astounded with their medical knowledge and dedication to their patients.”

“One of the most fulfilling aspects of this partnership has been witnessing the evolution of emergency medicine and growth of the learners,” notes Dr. Wytsma. “To see former residents trained through our collaboration now leading new EM residency programs throughout Ethiopia and taking on leadership roles at the hospital, national and global level, has been truly inspiring.”

TAAAC-EM is continuously engaging with new and returning faculty and is currently recruiting teaching faculty delegates for their trips in November 2025 and February, May and November 2026. To learn more and keep up to date with TAAAC-EM, visit the TAAAC-EM website, or reach out to Hannah Girdler if interested in collaborating.