The Urology Care Foundation has expanded its vision and mission to better serve the global urology community. We are proud to have created a multifaceted Humanitarian Program which:

1. recognizes humanitarians within urology,
2. supports individuals and projects that provide direct urological patient care for impoverished individuals and communities in underserved areas, either within or outside the United States, and
3. trains individuals who want to become our future humanitarian leaders.

Humanitarian Recognition Award

The Urology Care Foundation Humanitarian Recognition Award acknowledges an individual for demonstrated commitment to improving access to quality urological health care in underserved populations. The awardee is someone who exemplifies the spirit of philanthropy as evidenced by prior humanitarian work.

In 2021 we awarded Dr Catherine Rhu deVries, who is a leader and visionary in providing urological care, education, and training in low resource areas around the world. In 1995 she created International Volunteers in Urology (IVU), which organizes 20-25 short-term educational and surgical training trips each year to address congenital urological abnormalities.

In 2022 we recognized Dr Sakti Das, who has served in medical mission work for nearly 40 years, volunteering in 12 countries and on 3 continents, providing direct surgical care, training numerous teams of physicians, and developing infrastructure to sustain treatment for thousands of underserved patients, including a Syrian refugee camp in Jordan. Additionally, he started the Foundation for Freedom, an organization focused on increasing literacy levels in impoverished communities around the world, and is a founding member of IVU, created by Dr deVries.

This year we awarded Dr Serigne Magueye Gueye, who is director of Institut pour la Formation et la Recherche en Urologie et en Santé de la Famille, a nonprofit organization dedicated to building capacity and developing research in urology and reproductive health throughout Africa. Dr Gueye contributes to the development and training of medical doctors, surgical nurses, and other health care professionals through his work with many international programs, including the United Nations Population Fund, Engender Health, and the Women and Health Alliance International, where he runs training workshops in many sub-Saharan African countries. As our first international recipient, he represents our commitment to having a global impact on urology care.

Humanitarian Grant Program

AUA members who are affiliated with existing humanitarian organizations or have developed projects may apply for grants that support providing direct care, enhancing access to care or through educational efforts. In 2022 we were able to support 7 recipients:

• Victoria Y. Bird, MD—University of Florida’s Equal Access Clinic Network (EACN) in Gainesville
• Stephanie J. Kielb, MD—International Organization for Women & Development (IOWD)
• Ian S. Metzler, MD—IVUmed
• Timothy Schuster, MD, FACS—Global Surgical Expedition
• Amar Singh, MD, FACS—IVUmed
• Alan J. Yaghoubian, MD—Jeev Sewa Santhan Organization
• Kit Yuen, MD—University of Rochester and the St Joseph’s Neighborhood Center

International Student Humanitarian Research Grant Program

New in 2023, this program supports a medical student who will travel to, and complete humanitarian work specifically in, the country of Trinidad and Tobago. The grant is awarded to an AUA medical student member who will pursue humanitarian efforts to advance public health and/or quality improvement initiatives in the provision of urological care for this underserved population.

Health Equity Fellowship

An exciting new initiative in 2023 is the Health Equity Fellowship, which is designed to train early-career urologists who are passionate about humanitarian work and are committed to becoming future leaders in such endeavors. The 2-year fellowship consists of 1 year of didactic education in partnership with the Center for Urban Bioethics at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University. At the end of year 1, the fellow will submit a capstone project which will be supported in year 2 by a grant and ongoing mentoring.

I am proud of the work we have already accomplished in this space and look forward to many more projects and initiatives to better serve the global urological community.

Check out urologyhealth.org/humanitarianism to learn more about the Urology Care Foundation’s humanitarian efforts and to apply for funding.