Black History Month: Dr. Hadal El-Hadi & Dr. Teresa Semalulu
History in the Making!
Dr. Hadal El-Hadi and Dr. Teresa Semalulu are the co-founders of Black Physicians of Canada. The organization was established in 2020 with a mission to build a community of Black physicians and physicians-in-training, and educate the Canadian health care system about the obstacles that Black physicians frequently encounter. It also aims to increase representation amongst stakeholders to provide better advocacy for the needs of Black physicians, physicians in training, and work toward health equity for the Black community in Canada.
Dr. Hadal El-Hadi was born in Sudan and emigrated to Canada with her parents when she was 10. Dr. El-Hadi was fortunate to have a well-educated and supportive family, and graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature, and a medical degree. She is currently at the University of British Columbia's Public Health and Preventative Medicine Residency Program. Her biggest reason for pursuing a career in medicine is to be part of a collective that helps all children and adults in Canada, and globally, live happy and healthy lives. With her work in Global Health she hopes to spark interest and fuel determined communities into bettering themselves and their neighbours. In founding the Black Physicians of Canada she hopes to have the best interest of Black Canadians at heart, and as a fundamental priority create changes to the current system where she can and provide safety nets where she can't.
Dr. Teresa Semalulu is a rheumatology fellow at McMaster University. She received her Medical Degree from the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. Dr. Semalulu received her undergraduate degree from the University at Buffalo in Biomedical Sciences with a Minor in African-American Studies. She then finished her Master of Public Health in the Department of Community Health and Health Behaviour at the University at Buffalo. Dr. Semalulu has a passion for research and, in particular, investigating health disparities in minority populations. In 2021, Dr. Semalulu traveled to Uganda, the home country of her parents, to work with a rural community health clinic to evaluate malaria education programs. It was here she discovered first-hand the realities of the barriers to quality and consistent healthcare in developing nations, but also how small efforts can make big impacts in global health.
References
https://blackphysicians.ca/leadership
https://spph.ubc.ca/programs/residency-program/current-residents/hadal-el-hadi/
https://rethinkbreastcancer.com/addressing-racism-in-healthcare-with-black-physicians-of-canada/
About the Author
Claire Notman (Programming & Communications Coordinator)
Claire holds a Bachelor of Education with a major in History from Queen’s University. Throughout her professional career, Claire has enjoyed working with a number of local and national non-profit agencies developing and delivering educational programming, and supporting outreach and communications efforts. Hiking, biking and singing are the ways she take a break from the hectic day-to-day.