The University of Cape Town’s training of paediatric surgeons on the continent has resulted in a number of postgraduate trainees taking up leading positions in their countries.

This is the result of initiatives of the Division of Paediatric Surgery to build capacity and address the shortage of paediatric surgical expertise in Africa.

“We have trained about 35 surgeons from various African countries, in a programme that has brought specialists and nursing teams from all over Africa to improve their skills,” says Division Head Prof Alp Nomanuglo, “and I am delighted that most now hold leadership positions in their countries and beyond, such as past Fellow Dr Petronilla Ngiloi, now president of the Pan-African Paediatric Surgeons Association.” Students have travelled from Namibia, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Zambia, Sierra Leone, Kenya and Ghana to participate.

Image courtesy - Surgical Skills Centre

Training takes place at the most advanced training centre of its kind in South Africa, the Surgical Skills Training Centre, based at the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital complex. 

“The Centre offers a variety of training opportunities to surgeons-in-training and specialists,” says Prof Nomanuglo. Over the past five years, week-long training sessions have been held with specialist and nursing teams in the fields of colorectal surgery, nephrology and minimally invasive surgery. Students have mostly self-funded their training or have been scholarship recipients through Karl Storz African Paediatric Surgery Fellowship or the APFP programme run at the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital. 

In 2010, the Division embarked on a new initiative to make training and follow up more accessible, by introducing web-based training. Trainees from the continent and other countries - from Mexico to India - are regularly able to participate in sessions, and some departments such as the one in Lagos University Teaching Hospital use them as part of their curriculum.

“This innovation presented an exciting and efficient solution to the problem of ongoing access to the Centre’s training,” says Prof Alp Numanoglu. The Centre could offer follow up training after students returned to their countries – resulting in a tremendous growth in ‘web’ training sessions over the years.  

And as if this has not been enough, the Division has conducted outreach to some of the centres in Africa over the past 10 years. These countries include Ethiopia, Ghana and Nigeria. Future collaborations are planned with Nigeria in September 2016 and Namibia in March 2017.