Dr. Daniel Meressa is an Ethiopian physician specializing in internal medicine and drug-resistant tuberculosis care. He has played an important role in the development and expansion of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis services at St. Peter’s Specialized Tuberculosis Hospital in Addis Ababa. Harvard’s Center for African Studies identifies him as a Senior Specialist in Internal Medicine and describes his role in coordinating the treatment program for drug-resistant TB at St. Peter’s.

Dr. Meressa's professional career has focused heavily on tuberculosis treatment, clinical program development, research, and strengthening access to care for patients with drug-resistant disease. He was involved in the initiation of Ethiopia's first drug-resistant TB treatment program and its subsequent expansion. His work has included collaboration between Ethiopian health institutions and international partners to improve diagnosis, treatment, monitoring, and clinical training for patients with MDR-TB.

The World Health Organization's Ethiopia office identified Dr. Meressa as a clinician internist at St. Peter’s Hospital responsible for coordination of the MDR-TB treatment program and clinical management of patients. WHO also described his involvement in strengthening active case finding, screening of high-risk populations, and psychosocial support for patients receiving drug-resistant TB treatment.

His professional work extends beyond routine clinical care. Dr. Meressa has contributed to research evaluating treatment outcomes among patients with multidrug-resistant TB. A major observational cohort study published in Thorax included him as first author and examined the initiation and scale-up of MDR-TB care in Ethiopia. The study documented the development of a standardized second-line treatment program involving hospital and community-based care.

Dr. Meressa has also participated in clinical trials examining shorter treatment regimens for drug-resistant tuberculosis. His work as a principal investigator in the STREAM trial contributed to research that influenced the development of shorter MDR-TB treatment approaches and international recommendations. Harvard's profile specifically highlights this research contribution.

His expertise is particularly relevant to patients with complex tuberculosis infections, including multidrug-resistant disease and TB occurring alongside HIV. A peer-reviewed review on treatment of drug-resistant tuberculosis among people living with HIV lists Dr. Meressa among its authors and identifies St. Peter’s Specialized TB Hospital as one of his institutional affiliations.

St. Peter’s Specialized Hospital is a major national referral center for tuberculosis in Ethiopia. Recent research describes the hospital as the country's longest-standing specialized TB referral center and notes that it has provided comprehensive MDR-TB care since 2009.

For international patients, a specialist such as Dr. Meressa may be relevant when evaluating complicated or drug-resistant tuberculosis. Patients should bring previous microbiology results, drug-susceptibility testing, chest imaging, treatment records, medication history, HIV-related records where applicable, and previous adverse-event information.

TB treatment requires careful medical supervision because drug-resistant disease can involve prolonged and complex treatment regimens. Treatment selection depends on resistance patterns, previous medication exposure, clinical condition, microbiological results, and national or international treatment guidelines.

Dr. Meressa's career also demonstrates the importance of combining clinical medicine with public-health program development. His work has involved clinical management, treatment-program coordination, research, guideline development, and professional training. His documented association with St. Peter’s makes him an important professional figure in Ethiopia's drug-resistant TB treatment history.

For directory purposes, his current clinical availability should be confirmed directly with St. Peter’s Specialized Hospital. The Global Health Committee currently describes him as a former GHC Medical Coordinator from 2010–2023 and former St. Peter’s lead DR-TB physician, so this profile should not automatically state that he remains a current full-time St. Peter’s physician in 2026.