I Wanted People to Know That They're Not Alone With Fasika Shimeles Teferra, MD: Healthcare Disparities in IBD

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) affects people from all ethnic and cultural groups. In this limited series, we'll explore how inequalities in the healthcare system affect people from diverse backgrounds.

IBD is still considered rare in some parts of the world, but incidence is increasing. Fasika Shimeles Teferra, MD of Ethiopia describes her journey to a diagnosis of Crohn’s disease. Being a medical doctor, she has been able to make connections in order to help other IBD patients in her country. Patients face stigma, less than optimal care, and a lack of educational resources for themselves and their friends and family members.

Dr Teferra was helping patients as best she could but discovered she needed a bigger platform. She founded a nonprofit, Crohn’s and Colitis Ethiopia, in order to better support Ethiopian patients with IBD.

Find Dr Teferra on LinkedIn and Twitter and Crohn’s and Colitis Ethiopia on Facebook and their web site.

More about Dr Teferra and IBD in Ethiopia:

• Interview with Dr Teferra on Lights, Camera, Crohn's
• Inflammatory bowel disease: an emergent disease among Ethiopian Jews migrating to Israel
• Inflammatory bowel disease in Africa: what is the current state of knowledge?

Find Amber J Tresca at AboutIBD.com, Verywell, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Credits:

Healthcare Disparities in IBD is written, produced, and directed by Amber Tresca.

Theme music, mix, and sound design is by Cooney Studio.