Dr. Amon Ngongola is consultant Pediatric surgeon based at University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka, Zambia. He is on the faculty of the pediatric surgery program. Ngongola’s research interests include improving outcomes for patients with childhood solid tumors that require surgery.
One of Ngongola’s main motivations for joining the St. Jude Global Child Health Master’s Program is to gain the skills required to implement system-wide changes with the potential to improve the care and outcomes of children with cancer. He is also interested in building his research and advocacy skills through participation in the program. He has been a member of the St. Jude Global Alliance since 2021.
As a pediatric surgeon in a low-resource setting, Ngongola has been exploring ways to improve access to safe surgery for children in Zambia. His interest in global health has increased over the years as collaborative work has resulted in learning from the experiences of others and developing shared solutions.
Ngongola did his medical training at the University of Zambia and later completed his fellowship training as a pediatric surgeon with the College of Surgeons for East and Southern Africa (COSECSA). He has been working as an attending physician since the completion of his training. Most of his work involves pediatric general and oncology surgery in addition to training medical students and residents. He also does voluntary outreach surgical visits to various hospitals in the country to offer surgical care.
Among other leadership roles Ngongola serves as the executive vice president of the Zambia Association of Pediatric Surgeons and has consistently provided guidance on policy and planning processes to the Ministry of Health regarding pediatric surgical care. He also serves as a committee member of the Global Initiative for Children’s Surgery (GICS) Education and Oncology Committees.
Hometown: Lusaka, Zambia