본문영역

본문영역

Explore the World
KOFIH Interview

  • For healthier global community!
    Interview with the trainees of Dr. LEE Jong-wook
    Fellowship Program.

    • Written by_ KIM, Bomi
  • We met two medical doctors who were participating in Dr. LEE Jong-wook Fellowship Program.
    Their eyes sparkled with confidence, and they had bigger dreams than the African continent.
2020 Dr. LEE Jong-wook Fellowship Scholarship Program
Mozambique Antonio Carlos Vasco Junior

“I will be able to change minds and attitudes of students, who will contribute to improving the quality of health in our country.”

- I heard that this is your second visit to Korea. Please tell us about yourself.
“Hello. I am a medical doctor from Mozambique located in southeastern Africa. While in Nampula city of Mozambique, I worked in four private clinics and there I treated patients of all ages. And then, I was admitted to Quelimane Central Hospital. There I was assigned to the department of pediatrics and took care of patients aged 0 to 14 in emergency services, pediatric ward, and ICU. My first visit to Korea was in 2019, when I attended the "Clinical Expertise Course". In 2020, I came to Korea as a student of master’s program in physiology course.”
- Tell me about your goals and what you would like to accomplish in the program.
“As a doctor I am acquiring more knowledge that will allow me to better understand physiology of human body and pathophysiology of diseases. So that I can make the right decision for treating patients and become a good professor at the Licungo University, capable of changing students' mentality and attitudes to make them good health professionals. I hope that I can guide them to continuously seek knowledge.”
- Do you have any specific part that the program motivated you to study (research) more?
“Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and physiology. A vast number of patients lose their lives during CPR procedure, due to errors associated with dispatchers. In physiology class, animal experiments provide an opportunity to test, confirm hypotheses, and create new knowledge. So I hope that I can have more time to conduct case study for patients’ wellbeing.”
- Would you recommend the fellowship program to your peers after returning to home country?
“I will share my experiences with my colleagues after completing the program. In addition to inspiring them to do better and I am sure that I can apply the knowledge gained from this program to my patients. I will try to share all the positive points about the program and the culture to encourage my peers to do better. I hope more colleagues can change their minds. So that they become more aware and we can roll up our sleeves together and start fighting to improve medical education and health care in our country.”
- Have you met any person you would like to say thanks to?
“There are actually many people that I and my family would like to thank. My thanks go to KOFIH, professors and researchers at the Inje University. They helped me experience in practice and learn from people and culture. I learned every day not only from books or animal experiments, but also from the culture and experience, from native and foreign colleagues.”
- What would you like to pursue for your future dreams?
“After completing this course, I will become a professor and teach physiology to the basic cycle students. I will dedicate myself to teaching, because I believe that in this area I will be able to change minds and attitudes, and contribute to training quality doctors, who will again contribute to improving the quality of health in the country.”
2020 Dr. LEE Jong-wook Fellowship Program Infectious Disease Specialists Course
Ghana Emmanuel Addipa Adapoe

“I would like to study more about infectious disease control in Korea.”

- You arrived here in July this year. What motivated you to come here?
“Hello. I work for the department of infectious diseases as a member of the Covid-19 management team at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, located in the capital city of Ghana in West Africa. It is my great pleasure to come to Korea to begin with. Because KOFIH and KOICA have made a huge impact on Ghana. I have seen Koreans’ promptness to action and a strong sense of service, and self-sacrifice when they implement projects such as the Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Program in Volta and Oti regions of Ghana; and the Strengthening of our National Health Insurance Policy project. Regarding my participation in this program, I was selected by Dr. Samuel Akoriyea Kaba, Director of the Institutional Care Division at Ghana Health Service, as his candidate. I was thrilled to hear that I got in.”
- What was most impressive during “Dr. LEE Jong-wook Fellowship Program”?
“All topics during the program are very interesting and exciting. And all the lecturers teach well with practical demonstrations and research that they have conducted themselves in the related fields. The practical lessons I really enjoyed are the Action Plan Workshop, The Setting up of the Infectious Disease Isolation Unit, and the Practice of Donning and Doffing Level C Personal Protective Equipment.”
- Do you think the fellowship would help in practice?
“The Program will help in introducing some of the methods that Korea is using to fight the Covid-19 Pandemic. For example, the ante rooms and negative pressure areas in patient wards just like I witnessed in the Infectious Disease Centre at the National Medical Centre. Patients will also get more helps if we fix CCTV to monitor them.”
- Have you met any person you would like to say thanks to?
“Yes, to a lot of people. First, the lady who ran a restaurant I went to on the first night after my mandatory quarantine is over. She showed me such kindness that has left an indelible impression on my mind about the generosity of Koreans. Second, to the Korean government for establishing KOFIH in Memory of Dr. LEE Jong-wook. It is a privilege to be selected as the beneficiary of benevolence. The only requirement of me is to dedicate myself selflessly to the Memory of Dr. LEE Jong-wook. And I thank all the lecturers. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.”
- What would you like to pursue for your future dreams?
“I have a dream to be an infectious disease specialist to continue to fight in the frontline against established, re-emerging and newly emerging infectious diseases. I hope to partner with KOFIH to establish a world class infectious diseases center. I’d like to call it Dr. LEE JONG-WOOK MEMORIAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES CENTRE. This will serve as a training center for the neighboring countries in the sub region. I will collaborate with KOFIH to establish the Dr. LEE JONG-WOOK MEMORIAL INFECTIOUS DISEASE CENTRE where training and exchanging programs can be held in the African sub region with a view to acquiring advanced skillsets for infectious disease control and prevention.”