Co-creating point-of-care ultrasound education for family medicine in Ethiopia: reflections on pedagogy, faculty development, and academic partnership

Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is increasingly becoming an essential clinical and educational tool in low to middle income countries (LMICs), where formal imaging is often delayed or inaccessible. This commentary reflects on the co-creation and longitudinal implementation of a Family Medicine-focused point-of-care ultrasound education initiative at Addis Ababa University (AAU), developed through the Toronto Addis Ababa Academic Collaboration in Family Medicine (TAAAC-FM). We discuss how this initiative, while addressing an immediate diagnostic need, also functions as a curricular lever for faculty development, a pathway for professional identity formation, and can foster unique pathways for ongoing departmental sustainability. We discuss the partnership structures and equity considerations that shaped program design and situate this work within broader efforts to strengthen Primary Health Care (PHC) and advance Universal Health Coverage (UHC). These reflections offer transferable insight for academic collaborations seeking to align educational innovation with health system transformation in resource-constrained settings.