AAGL Global Health Program: Transforming Women’s Health Worldwide
The AAGL is committed to elevating the global standard of gynecologic care and expanding access to minimally invasive surgical options for women worldwide. In 2025, this commitment came to life with the launch of the AAGL Global Health Program (AGHP)—a comprehensive initiative designed to advance MIGS education and training in underserved and low-resource settings.
Co-Chaired by Dr. Michel Canis and Dr. Charles Miller, and supported by leaders from CBGF, JMIG, and EMIGS, the AGHP brings together AAGL’s global outreach efforts into a scalable, three-tiered program. Through progressive education, mentorship, and surgical skills development, AGHP empowers physicians to transform women’s health care within their own communities.
The AGHP partners with qualified programs and institutions, providing access to AAGL resources including SurgeryU, JMIG, EMIGS, CBG Fellowship, and FAAGL. Participants follow a structured pathway from foundational learning to hands-on clinical mentorship. A modest program fee supports participation, with scholarship funding available through the Foundation of the AAGL for programs in need.
The AGHP’s inaugural pilot programs launched with the HEM Practice’s Stitch & Knot: Hybrid Laparoscopic Suturing Program in Kenya and the McKinney Foundation in Grenada.
The HEM Practice, led by Chief Executive Officer, Faith Wanjeri, and Dennis Mureithi, a former FAAGL Harrith Hasson Deserving Physician from a Developing Economy Scholarship recipient, is a two-month, training program integrating instructor-led workshops and a supervised surgical camp guiding Ob/Gyns and general surgeons throughout Kenya from simulation-based learning to real-world laparoscopic competence.
Through enrollment in the AGHP, the HEM Practice received full access to JMIG, SurgeryU, and EMIGS for physicians participating in the Stitch & Knot program. We are pleased to congratulate the HEM Practice’s first graduating cohort, whose performance data demonstrated measurable improvement highlighting the powerful impact of exceptional training by the HEM Practice faculty in combination with the resources of the AAGL Global Health Program.
The AGHP also provided support for needed supplies for the McKinney Foundation in Grenada, led by Dr. Tim McKinney, which provides gynecologic care and surgery for the female residents of Grenada who very limited access to a surgical specialist in GYN services.
With the support of donors from the FAAGL’s 2025 fundraising event, AGHP is now expanding to welcome qualifying programs worldwide. Institutions from low resource settings with five or more physicians seeking advanced training in complex benign gynecologic surgery, are encouraged to apply now!
As Co-Chairs of the AGHP Task Force, we invite you to join us in shaping the future of global women’s health by getting involved in the AGHP as mentor or by providing financial support for the program.
Support AGHP scholarships! Donate to the Foundation of the AAGL and designate AGHP in the comment section. A donation of $1500 supports the training of 5 physicians through the AGHP.
Please contact AGHP@aagl.org for any questions.
