Sub-Saharan Africa presents great challenges relating to access to healthcare. Due to insufficient training opportunities there is a shortage of ENT surgeons, audiologists and speech therapists in the region. Therefore there are tremendous opportunities to improve access to ENT and hearing care by focusing on education and training. I am currently developing the AfHNS Clinical Practice Guidelines for Head & Neck Cancers in Developing Countries and Limited Resource Settings (https://developingworldheadandneckcancerguidelines.com).
Our ENT department in Cape Town trains ENT specialists from all over Africa, and runs the only fellowships in head and neck, rhinology and paediatric otolaryngology in Sub-Saharan Africa. Through these trainees, both past and present, we have a wonderful network of colleagues and friends all over Africa, and through them have learned about the opportunities to address challenges in Africa. I therefore look forward to serving as a Global Ambassador for the Southern African region, and to sharing the challenges, opportunities and successes relating to training and education in Africa with the international readership.
Latest Contribution
The Journal of the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa (JCMSA): a model for sharing research from low- and middle-income countries
A new open-access journal from South Africa offers a sustainable model to amplify research from low- and middle-income countries and rebalance global health knowledge. More than 80% of the world’s population lives in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Yet high-income...
In conversation with Dr Eugene Myers: Education, training, and leadership in the modern era
It is an honour to hear from Dr Eugene Myers, who shares his experience with us, and his opinions and advice on the current circumstances for training and trainees. His energy, vitality and work ethic in his late 80s are...
Virtual educational outreach in the COVID-19 era
Existing surgical outreach programmes to developing countries have been severely curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic. This has impacted on opportunities for otolaryngologists from the USA and from other developed countries to contribute to education and training of otolaryngologists in developing...
