Kenya
Situation Report
Each year, Africa loses more surgeons to the West than it produces. Training African surgeons in Africa is an effective and sustainable way to prepare local surgeons for the unique challenges they will face. In-country training enhances the likelihood that local professionals will continue to serve in their communities. We send teams to Kijabe and Tenwek Hospitals in Kenya.
Our Work
We sent our first team to northern Kenya in 1992 during the Somalian conflict to provide health services for Somalian refugees living in northern Kenya. In 2001, we sent a nutrition team to work in partnership with World Concern on a famine relief project. In 2007, we funded a home-based care and support project for people living with HIV and AIDS in collaboration with our partner, Christian Missionary Fellowship-Narok Health Ministries (CMF-NHM). In 2009, we began sending teams to Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons (PAACS) programs at Kijabe and Tenwek Hospitals.
Future Plans
We will send 2 volunteer teams to Kijabe Hospital and Tenwek Hospital to train surgical residents this year. Both hospitals are part of the PAACS. Courses for resident surgeons includes hands-on and lecture-based training. Physicians with specialities in general surgery, orthopedics, oncology, opthaalmology, urology, plastic surgery, ENT, pediatric surgery and neurosurgery, among other specialties are still needed to volunteer for these teams.
Our Partners
Medical Teams International works with Kijabe and Tenwek Hospitals in Kenya. Both are members of the Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons (PAACS), an association created to address the long-standing shortage of African general surgeons. PAACS is affiliated with the Christian Medical and Dental Society of North America and receives financial support from its Committee on International Medical Education (COIMEA).
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