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Since 2019, A-BE-C has deepened its commitment to children with bladder exstrophy in Uganda with the A-BE-C Uganda Initiative, a team of passionate surgeons, nurses, and social workers who travel to Uganda each year. These volunteers pay their own way, leave their families behind, and work alongside Ugandan medical professionals to perform surgeries, provide training, and build sustainable local expertise.
A-BE-C proudly took part in the AUA Advocacy Summit in Washington, D.C.—a powerful event that brings together urologists, patient advocates, and policy makers to influence healthcare legislation and elevate the needs of the urologic patient community.
Imagine a room filled with 51 of the world’s top pediatric urology specialists, all gathered with a single mission—to transform the lives of children born with bladder exstrophy. That’s exactly what happened at CIVIL Hospital, as it proudly hosted the 2025 International Bladder Exstrophy Collaborative (IBEC) Conference!
We are committed to creating a self-sustaining bladder exstrophy community in Sub-Saharan Africa. On our upcoming Family Education Day, over 50 families from Uganda, South Sudan, and Burundi will come together with our Global Care team for a day focused on education, empowerment, and connection.
Realizing that care for the entire patient – beginning with appropriate surgical counseling and preparation, to psychosocial support and postoperative management – is key to successful outcomes, the sessions focused on the challenges patients and families face through a spectrum of discussions and provide tools to show that BE Doesn’t Limit ME!
A-BE-C recently presented its Richard W. Grady Humanitarian Award to Dr. William Reiner, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Urology. Dr Reiner, a world-renowned Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, spent his career focused on the psychological aspects of bladder exstrophy.
A-BE-C is so proud to be a part of the annual Bladder Exstrophy workshop which celebrated its 15th year in January!!! After two days of extensive discussion and five days of complex surgeries, I can’t thank Civil Hospital enough for their ongoing commitment to our beautiful children and families living with bladder exstrophy.
A-BE-C recently presented its Richard W. Grady Humanitarian Award to John P. Gearhart, M.D., Johns Hopkins Professor of Pediatrics and Urology. The distinguished award was presented during the 2022 International Exstrophy Conference in Baltimore, MD.
Dr. Canning gave of himself completely in doing his utmost to improve every child’s life that he touched, to the best of his ability. He always put his patients’ care, safety and quality of life first in every conversation and plan of care. The entire BE community will miss his tremendous passion, kindness, availability and great skill.
Late in the day at a makeshift ‘medical mission’ clinic in the Bahamas as the doors were closing for the day, a family hesitantly knocked on the door. Judging by the looks on their faces, the volunteer nurses knew they were desperate for help. Avles, an adorable five year old boy stood before them – they could smell him before they met him. Alves’ father, Lucner, out of desperation and faith asked if they would see his child, not really expecting they could do anything.
We recently had the rare opportunity to get some words of wisdom from Australian, Tom Flood, who was born in 1930 with bladder exstrophy. In those days, very little was known about bladder exstrophy and no treatment options were available. His parents were told that Tom was not expected to survive and if he was not in pain, just to leave things as are. But Tom had other plans!
A-BE-C has teamed up with a group of physicians in a coordinated effort to send much needed oxygen concentrators to partner hospitals in major cities in India, to aid in their continued fight against Covid. India is experiencing the world’s worst outbreak, with 400,000 new cases each day.
Since 2009, a team of surgeons, anesthesiologists, social workers, and other healthcare providers from hospitals in India and the U.S. have worked together to help more children in Asia and Africa receive the complex surgery necessary to address bladder exstrophy.
A-BE-C recently elected Dr. Paul Merguerian to a two year term as Advisory Board Chair. Our board helps to shape and guide the strategy of the organization and is vital to the success of our mission: To make the highest standards of treatment, care and support within reach of all people affected by bladder exstrophy.
A groundbreaking intensive workshop in the treatment of bladder exstrophy-epispadias complex for pediatric urologists and surgeons is taking place in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India on January 16-18. Many of A-BE-C’s Medical Advisory Board members will be on-site faculty and A-BE-C’s Executive Director, Pamela Block, will be on hand providing support to families.