Dr. Dawit Hailu Mekbib

Dr. Dawit Hailu Mekbib is a senior internist and infectious disease specialist at Tikur Anbessa (Black Lion) Specialized Hospital in Addis Ababa, where he has practised for the majority of his 20-year medical career. His standing as one of Ethiopia's foremost infectious disease physicians is built on a combination of long-term front-line clinical experience with the country's highest infectious disease burden and internationally recognised advanced training sponsored by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) — one of the world's leading public health and infectious disease institutions.

Dr. Mekbib trained initially at the University of Gondar — historically one of Ethiopia's oldest and most respected medical schools — before pursuing postgraduate specialisation at Addis Ababa University. His CDC-sponsored Fellowship in Infectious Disease in the United States gave him exposure to cutting-edge antiretroviral therapy protocols, tuberculosis management in high-income settings, and emerging infectious disease preparedness — knowledge he returned to Ethiopia specifically to apply to the country's HIV, TB, and tropical disease epidemics.

At Tikur Anbessa, Dr. Mekbib leads a demanding clinical programme managing HIV/AIDS patients at all stages of disease, TB patients including those with multi-drug resistant strains, and a range of tropical diseases unique to the Ethiopian context — including visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar), which carries significant morbidity and mortality if not diagnosed and treated promptly. He is a respected member of the International AIDS Society and the Ethiopian Medical Association, and has contributed extensively to national guideline development and research.

Dr. Mekbib completed his undergraduate medical degree at the University of Gondar in the Amhara Region, one of Ethiopia's most historic medical schools with a tradition of training clinicians for service across northern and rural Ethiopia. He subsequently pursued a Master of Medicine in Internal Medicine at Addis Ababa University, gaining advanced training in clinical diagnosis, pharmacotherapy, and the management of both communicable and non-communicable disease at Tikur Anbessa's high-volume wards. His career was transformed by a CDC-sponsored Fellowship in Infectious Disease in the United States — a competitive programme that selected him among a cohort of African physicians to receive intensive training in HIV/AIDS clinical management, tuberculosis control including drug-resistant TB, epidemiology, and outbreak investigation. This fellowship remains one of his defining professional credentials and gives him a perspective on infectious disease management that integrates both resource-rich protocols and practical realities of low-income clinical settings.

Dr. Mekbib's clinical practice encompasses the full breadth of adult infectious disease and internal medicine. In HIV/AIDS care, he manages antiretroviral therapy initiation and monitoring, addresses virological failure and resistance by guiding second- and third-line regimen selection, and manages the complex spectrum of opportunistic infections seen in immunocompromised patients including PCP pneumonia, cryptococcal meningitis, toxoplasmosis, and CMV disease. He is experienced in managing HIV-TB co-infection — one of the most challenging dual diagnoses in Ethiopian medicine — coordinating integrated treatment pathways that minimise immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome.

In tuberculosis management, Dr. Mekbib diagnoses and treats pulmonary and extra-pulmonary TB using GeneXpert, culture, and clinical criteria. He has managed multi-drug resistant (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR-TB) cases, working within the national TB programme framework to ensure appropriate second-line regimens and contact tracing. For tropical diseases, he is one of few clinicians in Ethiopia with extensive experience managing visceral leishmaniasis — a vector-borne parasitic disease endemic to parts of Ethiopia — and he provides diagnostic and management consultations for cases referred from affected regions. He also handles typhoid fever, complicated malaria including cerebral malaria, and manages the intersection between these infectious conditions and underlying chronic diseases such as diabetes.

Dr. Mekbib has a substantial research portfolio reflecting his two decades at the intersection of Ethiopian infectious disease and international public health collaboration. He has authored publications in journals including the Ethiopian Medical Journal, AIDS, and PLoS ONE, covering topics such as HIV treatment outcomes in Ethiopia, MDR-TB epidemiology, and clinical predictors of visceral leishmaniasis outcomes. His CDC fellowship connection has facilitated collaborative research with American institutions, and he has served as a local investigator on NIH-funded studies examining HIV drug resistance patterns in sub-Saharan Africa. He is a member of the International AIDS Society and has presented research at the International AIDS Conference and the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI).

Dr. Mekbib regularly consults with international patients and diaspora Ethiopians who require specialist infectious disease evaluation. He is fluent in English and is experienced in communicating with patients and their overseas treating physicians. He provides second-opinion consultations for complex HIV/AIDS management questions — including virological failure on first-line regimens, immune reconstitution syndromes, and management of uncommon opportunistic infections. Diaspora Ethiopians returning to Ethiopia for visits who need HIV care continuity, TB evaluation, or assessment for tropical disease exposure can arrange consultations through Tikur Anbessa's outpatient department. He also advises international organisations, NGOs, and global health programmes working in Ethiopia on clinical infectious disease management questions. Video consultations are available for pre-travel risk assessment, post-travel infectious disease evaluation, and follow-up of patients whose initial work-up was conducted at Tikur Anbessa.

Dr. Mekbib has received recognition at multiple levels for his contributions to infectious disease medicine in Ethiopia. He was selected for the prestigious CDC-sponsored Fellowship in Infectious Disease — a competitive award reflecting both his clinical excellence and his potential for contribution to public health. The Ethiopian Medical Association has recognised him for outstanding service in HIV/AIDS care and his sustained commitment to training the next generation of Ethiopian internists and infectious disease physicians. His inclusion as a member of the International AIDS Society places him among the global community of leading HIV clinicians and researchers. Tikur Anbessa Hospital has commended him for his role in developing the hospital's HIV care protocols and for leading quality improvement initiatives in the infectious disease ward.