138 surgeons graduate

Rumbidzayi Zinyuke

Senior Health Reporter

ZIMBABWE and other African nations in the East, Central, and Southern regions are making significant strides in retaining crucial health specialists, particularly surgeons.

By fostering South-South co-operation and strengthening regional collaborations, the continent has seen a surge in skilled surgical professionals.

Yesterday, Zimbabwe hosted a graduation ceremony for the College of Surgeons of East, Central, and Southern Africa (COSECSA) and celebrated its 25th anniversary.

A total of 138 surgeons were conferred with certifications in nine surgical fields, including general surgery, urology, paediatric surgery, paediatric orthopaedic surgery, orthopaedic oncology surgery, orthopaedic surgery, cardiothoracic surgery, plastic surgery, and neurosurgery.

Speaking at the official opening of the graduation ceremony, Health and Child Care Minister Dr Douglas Mombeshora said more than 900 surgical specialists had received certification over the past years, with an additional 1 200 surgeons currently undergoing training, a testimony to the impact of the training being offered.

He said the impact of specialised training of surgeons had been tremendous in Zimbabwe.

“One of the most significant impacts of regionalised training has been the retention of surgical talent in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe has successfully retained over 96 percent of its COSECSA-trained surgeons, who are now serving communities across the country. Two decades ago, many towns and cities, such as Marondera, Masvingo, Chinhoyi, Gweru, and Bindura, lacked specialist surgeons. Today, these towns benefit from the presence of trained specialists, reducing the need for patients to travel to major cities like Harare or Bulawayo for surgical care,” he said.

The Minister said the coming on board of COSECSA had opened doors to a broad network of training opportunities and resources, resulting in several notable benefits for Zimbabwe.

In 1999, Zimbabwe had only five orthopaedic surgeons, and the number had risen to 48, of which 42 were trained through COSECSA. The number of paediatric surgeons also grew from one in 1999 to eight, seven of whom were COSECSA graduates.

“Before COSECSA, there were no plastic and reconstructive surgeons in Zimbabwe; today, there are six qualified professionals. Zimbabwe now boasts a total of 205 surgeons with COSECSA qualifications, and 117 Zimbabwean trainee-surgeons are currently undergoing training through COSECSA programs,” he said.

Dr Mombeshora commended the growth in the number of female surgeons who were taking up the medical space.

Of the 138 graduates, 31 were female; accounting for 33 percent of the total number of graduates.

“This demonstrates that gender is no barrier to surgical training. I commend COSECSA’s efforts in ensuring gender inclusivity, as well as the work of Women in Surgery Africa (WISA), an affiliate of COSECSA, which has encouraged female medical students and professionals to pursue careers in surgery.

COSECSA president, Dr Fualal Jane Obudu, said the continent had seen advancement in surgical education, training standards and research and practice over the past years.

“We are building capacity and we are on the right track. But when you go to statistics, the fellows we are producing are like a drop in the ocean because the population growth is so fast, so we must train more,” she said.

Dr Obudu encouraged all 14 member states of COSECSA to engage their Governments to invest in the growth of the college’s operation to improve the training of specialist health workers.