UNC Departments of Surgery and Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery Support for Surgery Resident Training in Malawi, Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa lacks many essentials of medical care, including locally trained surgeons.  With the help of surgeons from the University of North Carolina, a new surgical resident training program was established in Lilongwe, Malawi in July 2009.

Three dedicated Malawians started surgical training at Kamuzu Central Hsopital.  After 5 years of post medical school training, these young men and women will spend a lifetime providing surgical care to some of the poorest people in the world.

Malawi is an impoverished country of 14 million people in southeastern Africa.  Only $14 per person is spent each year on healthcare.  There are only 25 surgeons in the country, and only a few are Malawian.

Surgeons treat curable diseases that frequently allow people to return to a normal, productive life.  These include:

• Congenital anomalies, such as cleft lip and palate
• Abdominal problems such as hernias, appendicitis and bowel obstruction
• Traumatic injuries such as collapse lungs, internal bleeding and broken bones
• Complications of childbirth, with life-saving cesarean sections.
• Cancer: Most Africans do not have access to radiation or chemotherapy, so surgery is the only curative option.

How can you help make difference?  Your $500 donation will support one surgical trainee's education in the MAlawi Residency Program for one month.  Additional support will go towards:

• Educational materials, such as books relevant to surgical training
• Internet access
• Travel expenses to give residents the opportunity to experience specialty care, such as neurosurgery, which is not offered in Malawi.

For more information, contact Dr. Anthony Charles (Dept of Surgery) 919-966-0443 or Dr. Carol Shores (Dept of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery) 919-350-7858

Donations to support the Malawi Residency Program can be made through The Medical Foundation of NC:
Holli Gall
Major Gifts Officer
880 MLK Jr. Blvd
Chapel Hill, NC 27514-2600
919-843-5734
919-966-5470 (fax)
holli_gall at the UNC School of Medicine

posted December 17, 2009

I am pursing surgery because there is a high disease burden that requires surgical intervention and few surgeons on the ground.  The majority of surgeons in Malawi are foreign and do not stay in Malawi for long periods of time.  I believe it would make a tremendous difference if our country would have Malawian surgeons willing to stay and work in the country.

I am pursuing surgery because Malawi has a very low physician to patient ratio (1:80,000) and subsequently has a great need for physicians, and even more so, for surgeons.  The Department of Surgery at Kamuzu Central Hospital currently has no Malawian surgeon/specialist and has a great need for Malawian surgeons.

Initially, I was encouraged by my parents to pursue medicine.  After taking courses in medicine, I realized that I enjoyed serving patients with various conditions especially surgical conditions.  I intend to become a Pediatric Surgeon.  There is no Malawian Pediatric Surgeon, yet we see many pediatric surgical conditions.

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