The founder and Chief Medical Director of CHILDAccra has been adjudged the Best Pediatric Practitioner of the Year at the recently-held West African Clinical Alliance Awards (WACA).

Dr Juliette Tuakli who has over 30 years’ experience in pediatric and family medicine practice is also an expert in healthcare education program development and community outreach.

She has served as a clinical professor at Harvard and a clinical instructor in pediatrics at Boston Medical School.

She also established the Community Pediatric Department at the Children’s Hospital of Boston and directed the development of a national HIV/AIDS program in Africa.

Dr. Tuakli currently serves as an International Board Member for Mercy Ships and a Trustee for United Way Worldwide

A citation accompanying the award attributed the choice of Dr Tuakli as the recipient of this award to her “demonstrated ability and sustained commitment to patient care and well-being.”

It also praised her for her ability to “sustain high standards of both technical and clinical aspects of service while providing patient-focused care.”

In a brief interaction with the media after being presented with the award, Dr. Tuakli expressed her gratitude to the organisers of the award for recognizing her work and her demonstrated commitment to the family well-being.

 According to her “this award really means a lot to me and my team as it shows that people really see and appreciate the little things we do.”

“As in most instances”, she continues “an award serves as a boost to your morale and in a way thrusts additional responsibilities on you to keep up whatever good you are doing.

“So I feel inspired and more energized to roll out more quality services to the public, together with my team” she added.

CHILDAccra is a leading-edge medical center, which focuses on patient-centered care by addressing all the factors that influence the health the family.

The Clinic was first established as CHILD & Associates in 2006 and began as a small clinic to provide medical care solely to children.

As the network of health specialists grew, it expanded its scope of services and opened its doors to the entire families and in 2015, it won the African Union Award for Medical Excellence.

The Centre is organized into departments namely CHILD & Associates; the Ream Reproductive Center; and Beyond the Nets, a non-profit arm of CHILDAccra that raises awareness about infectious diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, HIV and educates patients and the community on preventative measures.

The Centre is affiliated to the St Jean de Deu-Barcelona Children’s Hospital; and the UCLA – Charles Drew Department of Pediatrics.