Dr. Mariama Diallo

Dr. Mariama Diallo is an internist at CHU Ignace Deen, the oldest of Conakry's teaching hospitals, located near the port district of the capital and serving as a major inpatient referral centre for complex medical cases from across Guinea and from across Conakry's dense urban population. With 14 years of internal medicine practice, Dr. Diallo is one of a small cohort of trained specialist physicians in Guinea's severely under-doctored health system—a country of 14 million people where the physician-to-population ratio is among the lowest in the world. Her clinical practice is shaped by the acute disease burden that characterises medicine in one of West Africa's poorest countries. HIV/AIDS affects a significant proportion of the adult population in Guinea, and many patients present late with advanced immunosuppression and multiple opportunistic infections. Tuberculosis, particularly in the context of HIV co-infection, is among the most common causes of complex medical admission. Malaria, typhoid fever, and viral hepatitis B also generate significant specialist medical workload. At the same time, non-communicable diseases including hypertension and sickle cell disease crises are encountered regularly in the hospital setting. Dr. Diallo is fluent in French and Fula, the language of the Peul ethnic group, which is the largest in Guinea and widely spoken throughout the Fouta Djallon region.

Dr. Diallo graduated in medicine from the Université Gamal Abdel Nasser de Conakry and undertook postgraduate specialist training in internal medicine through the DES programme, which is supported by the Guinean Ministry of Health and involves rotations through CHU Ignace Deen and CHU Donka. She subsequently undertook additional clinical training in HIV medicine and tropical medicine through WHO and PEPFAR-supported programmes, which have invested in building specialist clinical capacity for HIV management in Guinea as part of the global AIDS response. She is one of the few female specialist physicians at CHU Ignace Deen.

Dr. Diallo's clinical expertise centres on the management of HIV and its complications, including antiretroviral therapy initiation and monitoring, management of severe opportunistic infections such as cryptococcal meningitis, Pneumocystis pneumonia, and disseminated tuberculosis, and care of patients with HIV-TB co-infection. She manages severe malaria in adults, including cerebral malaria and malaria-associated anaemia requiring transfusion. She performs diagnostic lumbar puncture for suspected meningitis, pleural aspiration for pleural effusion, and manages hepatitis B with antiviral therapy available through national programme supplies. She manages sickle cell disease crises and complications.

Dr. Diallo has contributed patient data to PEPFAR-supported HIV outcomes research in Guinea and has participated in clinical trials of HIV and tuberculosis treatments coordinated by international partners. She has engaged with the Société de Médecine Interne de Guinée and presented case reports of unusual tropical disease presentations at national medical meetings. Her commitment to evidence-based practice shapes her clinical teaching of junior medical staff at CHU Ignace Deen.

Dr. Diallo provides internal medicine consultations for international NGO workers, researchers, and visitors to Conakry who require specialist medical assessment during their time in Guinea. She communicates in French and is experienced in reviewing medical documentation from European health systems. CHU Ignace Deen can be accessed by international patients seeking inpatient or outpatient medical consultation in Conakry. Appointments are arranged through the hospital's outpatient department.

Dr. Diallo is a member of the Société de Médecine Interne de Guinée and the Ordre National des Médecins de Guinée. She is recognised within CHU Ignace Deen as a dedicated specialist physician whose expertise in HIV medicine has improved patient outcomes in a context of severe resource limitation. She is regarded as a role model for women pursuing specialist medicine careers in Guinea.