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Pius OkothSecretaryOversees governance, records, and organizational coordination for the foundation.
Ending stroke across Africa — together.
ADSAF unites the African diaspora, world-class neurologists, and local communities to advance stroke care, education, and health equity for 1.4 billion people.
Founded by Dr. Mehari Gebreyohanns, MD, FAHA, FAAN
BORNE teaching rounds · Bahir Dar, Ethiopia
Telestroke consultation in progress · Bahir Dar
Teaching CT interpretation with Ethiopian residents
4th African Stroke Organization Conference · Lusaka, Zambia
Travel scholars · 5th African Stroke Organization Conference
What's in a word
“Diaspora”
It acknowledges the value of the richness of the tapestry that is the diverse African community across the globe. By harnessing our collective global strength, we are dedicated to driving positive change and promoting brain health for African diaspora everywhere.
Why us? Why now?
Our organization is shaped by the global experience of our founder, Dr. Mehari Gebreyohanns. Having witnessed the power of the diaspora firsthand, he assembled a dedicated team to tackle a critical global issue: the devastating impact of stroke.
We believe that by uniting the diaspora, we can build better health resources and drive better health outcomes in Africa and worldwide.
The burden across the continent
Stroke in Africa, country by country
Africa carries one of the highest lifetime stroke risks in the world. Hover or tap any nation for population and stroke-burden estimates.
Interactive · 55 nations
Hover or tap a country for population & stroke-burden data
Core mission
Addressing Africa's neurological crisis
Sub-Saharan Africa bears a disproportionate burden of non-communicable disease, and neurological conditions are the leading cause of disability. ADSAF exists to change this through science, training, and equity.
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Neurological equity
Closing the vast gap in access to certified vascular neurologists and advanced stroke care across underserved African diaspora communities.
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Telestroke innovation
Deploying telemedicine that connects remote hospitals to expert stroke neurologists in real time, anywhere in the world.
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Education & training
Building self-sufficient neurological education and stroke specialty training through direct teaching, distance learning, and international exchanges.
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Translational research
Creating evidence-based tools for stroke recognition, prevention, and treatment adapted to Africa's clinical, epidemiological, cultural, and infrastructural context.
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Diaspora engagement
Harnessing diaspora knowledge, networks, and resources to drive health-equity initiatives across the African diaspora community globally and across the African continent.
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Global partnerships
Forging collaborations with academic medical centers, governments, and NGOs to scale impact across all 54 African nations and in other regions such as the Caribbean.
Our team
Leadership & advisory board
ADSAF is led by a team of clinicians, researchers, and professionals spanning the African continent and its diaspora — united by a shared commitment to ending the burden of stroke.
Founder & Executive Director
Mehari Gebreyohanns, MD, FAHA, FAAN
A nationally recognized stroke specialist, clinician, and educator at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Dr. Gebreyohanns trains the next generation of neurologists and has led the university's telestroke and community outreach program. Over the past several years he has applied these experiences to his global endeavors.
His work is defined by a singular mission: bringing world-class neurological care to the thousands of people at home in North Texas and the millions of Africans and African diaspora in the Global South who are shut out of it.
"A very important part of my job is to ease the distress of patients and their families at their most vulnerable moment. To gain and maintain the trust of these patients and their families is an awesome privilege and a great responsibility."
— Dr. Mehari Gebreyohanns
In a landmark contribution to African health literacy, he created the first word for "stroke" in Amharic — ye-angol-tikat — coining culturally specific vocabulary and stroke assessment tools for tens of millions of speakers.
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Recognition
Ted Burns Humanism in Neurology Award
Recipient, 2025 — American Academy of Neurology
Dr. Gebreyohanns on humanism in neurology and his work across Africa.
OfficersThe team leading ADSAF's day-to-day work.
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Almaz Woldeab, CPA, MBATreasurerCertified public accountant leading ADSAF's financial stewardship, reporting, and fiscal accountability.
Advisory boardGlobal clinicians and researchers guiding our strategy and science.
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Prof. Fred Stephen SarfoAdvisory BoardProvost of the College of Health Sciences at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology (KNUST), Ghana, and Professor of Medicine. He established the first stroke unit in Ghana's middle and northern belts at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital and holds doctorates in epidemiology and molecular medicine. Professor Sarfo is Co-founder and current Co-Chair of ASOC.
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Roger Bedimo, MDAdvisory BoardProfessor of Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center and Chief of the Infectious Diseases Section at the VA North Texas Health Care System. Originally from Cameroon, he has led HIV care and research programs for over two decades.
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Douglas Dickson, MD, MBAAdvisory BoardPhysician and health-system leader advising ADSAF on clinical operations and organizational strategy.
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Deanna Saylor, MD, MHSAdvisory BoardAssociate Professor of Neurology at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and a global neurology expert. She led the development of Zambia's first neurology residency program, inpatient neurology unit, and stroke unit, and spends significant time there. Her research applies implementation science and quality improvement to strengthen neurological care in resource-limited settings across Africa.
Dr. Saylor on building neurological care capacity in Zambia.
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Erica Danquah Asante, MPHAdvisory BoardGlobal health leader with more than 15 years driving systems-level change, based at the Office of Global Health at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. LinkedIn →
Flagship initiative
The BORNE Initiative
Bahir Dar Outreach for Neuroscience Education — a replicable model for closing the neurological care gap in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Dr. Gebreyohanns launched the BORNE Initiative to confront a staggering reality: seven million people in one region of Ethiopia had absolutely no access to a neurologist. The problem was not temporary — it was structural.
The BORNE model fuses academic institutional education with direct teaching and distance learning, creating a self-sustaining infrastructure for neurological care. It was designed to build — and leave behind — local capacity.
Through BORNE, medical residents and faculty travel to Ethiopia for immersive clinical exchanges, while gaining experience in medical practice in low-resource settings and a lifetime experience of cultural competence.
7M+
People without a neurologist
In the Bahir Dar region of Ethiopia alone, seven million people had zero access to a neurologist before BORNE — one of the most acute neurological care deserts on the planet.
A word that didn't exist
Dr. Gebreyohanns created the first word for "stroke" in Amharic, spoken by 25+ million people. This linguistic breakthrough unlocked entirely new possibilities for stroke education across Ethiopia.
A tool for stroke symptom recognition
Dr. Gebreyohanns created an acronym in Amharic for recognizing the signs and symptoms of stroke — putting rapid recognition directly into the hands of families and frontline health workers.
Scientific publications
Research & scholarship
Dr. Gebreyohanns's published work has shaped global understanding of stroke disparities, mechanical thrombectomy access, and culturally adapted interventions for African populations.
African Stroke Organization Conference: Stroke in the Age of Emerging Challenges and Advances
Co-led landmark conference proceedings documenting the rising burden of stroke in Africa, with steep incidence increases in low- and middle-income countries over three decades.
Mechanical Thrombectomy Access in Africa: A Mission Thrombectomy Study Subanalysis
Analyzed access disparities to life-saving mechanical thrombectomy across African healthcare systems, identifying structural barriers and pathways for equitable intervention.
Providing Stroke and Hypertension Education in Amharic for Ethiopian Persons Living in Dallas, Texas
Pioneering bilingual study demonstrating measurable improvement in stroke knowledge using Amharic-language video education tools — the first of their kind in any African language.
Factors Associated with Stroke Prenotification in Emergency Medical Services Among Stroke Code Patients
Multi-center retrospective analysis of EMS prenotification patterns for stroke code patients — contributing to faster, more coordinated acute care delivery frameworks.
Diaspora-Informed Stroke Awareness and Intervention Tools for Sub-Saharan Africa
Active research with Dallas's Ethiopian diaspora community to co-design and validate stroke awareness tools with direct application across the continent.
What we do
Programs & initiatives
Six interconnected programs form the operational core of ADSAF's work across the continent and diaspora.
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Stroke Awareness, Advocacy & Support
Fostering greater public understanding of stroke while advocating for comprehensive resources, support systems, and equitable care for stroke patients, survivors, and their families.
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Healthcare Capacity Building
Equipping regional health centers with protocols, staff training, and technology to deliver evidence-based acute stroke care independently and sustainably.
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Physician Training
Enhancing the capacity of African physicians through education, mentorship, and specialized training in neurology and stroke — improving patient outcomes and reducing the burden of stroke across the continent.
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Language Access Program
Platform for the cross-cultural adaptation of stroke education, symptom recognition tools, and treatment guidelines into native languages.
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ASO Conference (ASOC)
Annual scientific forum uniting African stroke researchers, clinicians, and global experts to set the continental research agenda. Visit the ASOC site →
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Diaspora Research Hub
Engaging African diaspora communities in the U.S. and across the globe to co-design and validate stroke intervention tools.
Our work in the field
Events
Where we convene
ADSAF supports and participates in the continent's leading stroke gatherings — bringing clinicians, researchers, and advocates together across borders.
Upcoming · Flagship
6th African Stroke Organization Conference
Join leading clinicians, researchers, and advocates advancing evidence-based stroke care across the continent.
- Pre-conference
- Sunday, 1 November 2026
- Scientific sessions
- 2 – 4 November 2026
- Venue
- Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
- Host
- African Stroke Organization (ASO)
20255th ASO Conference · travel scholars supported
20244th ASO Conference · Lusaka, Zambia
2022ASOC proceedings published in Stroke
Emergency awareness
Recognize a stroke: act F.A.S.T.
Stroke is a medical emergency. Recognizing the signs immediately and acting within minutes can mean the difference between recovery and permanent disability.
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Face drooping
Ask the person to smile. Is one side drooping or numb? An uneven smile is a warning sign.
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Arm weakness
Ask them to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward? Sudden weakness signals danger.
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Speech difficulty
Ask them to repeat a simple sentence. Is their speech slurred or impossible to understand?
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Time to call
If you observe any of these signs, call emergency services immediately. Note when symptoms began.
Every second counts
During a stroke, approximately 1.9 million neurons die every minute. Rapid response is the single most important factor in a patient's outcome.
ADSAF supports development of multilingual stroke recognition tools so no community is left without this critical information.
Call emergency services now Access our education resources
Stroke education in native languages
Recognition tools adapted for African communities — click any card to view it full size.
More languages in development. See the Language Access Program →