EDUCATION OF MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS- TRAINING OF SURGEONS
We have established a surgical training program to address the enormous lack of surgeons for Malawi, so that Malawian specialist can improve the medical care for their country independent from western aid.
MALAWI:
2 SURGEONS FOR 1 MILLION PEOPLE
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GERMANY:
~ 450 SURGEONS FOR 1 MILLION PEOPLE
(SOURCE WHO 2013)
What if…you were at home and you suddenly experience severe abdominal pain from an inflamed appendix? If you happen to live in a privileged western country, you would have an appendectomy surgery within two hours.
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But if you happen to live in Malawi, in a rural area ...
After a few hours, you might make it over bumpy roads to a small provincial hospital. However, you would not find a trained surgeon there. Because of the lack of training opportunities Malawi has approximatly 30 surgeons for 18,6 million people, and the few are all concentrated in the larger cities. In Germany, we enjoy the privilege to have around 9310 surgeons for 18,6 million people.
Malawi is still one of the poorest countries on earth, and a simple appendicitis can quickly turn into a painful death.
To adress the enormous shortage of surgeoans, we have established and run an accredited surgical training program at Nkhoma Hospital. As part of the Pan- African Academy of Christian Surgeons (PAACS), we train Malawian doctors to become accredited surgeons.
Nkhoma Hospital is a member of a national network of health facilities and training sites. Collectively, they represent more than 40% of Malawi's medical facilities and more than 80% of its healthcare training facilities.
The surgeons trained at Nkhoma Hospital will be sent to the participating hospitals of the healthcare- network.
A SURGICAL TRAINING PROGRAM AND A MEDICAL CARE NETWORK TO ADDRESS THE LACK OF SURGICAL CARE
CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT AND QUALIFICATION OF MULTIPLIERS
The training of a surgeon takes five years. The graduates are qualified to train other doctors.
As they become multipliers in the places they will serve, future Malawian specialists will improve the medical landscape of their country independent of Western aid. In 9 years, 10 new Malawian surgeons can be trained at each location.
This strengthens the capacity of people living in developing regions.
Surgical training at an international level demands certain building structures. That's why we and our partners support the Nkhoma Hospital in the building and equipment of the "Nkhoma Teaching Center of Excellence".
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The new, 5000 m2 building will host: ​
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7 operating rooms
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Intensive care unit with 8 beds
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Lecture rooms and offices
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Department of obstetrics and neonatal medicine with a maternity ward and a large intensive care unit for "premature babies"
