Cameroon
Scarcity of medical professionals in Cameroon
In much of Africa, the ratio of fully trained general surgeons to the population is between 1:500,000 and 1:1.7 million. Most surgeons are in the major cities, caring for the wealthy and upper middle classes.
Training African surgeons in Africa is the surest way to prepare surgeons for the unique challenges they will face. It enhances the likelihood that they will serve out their years in the neediest of all the continents and it will provide desperately needed surgeons for a continent that is annually losing more surgeons to the West than it is training.
Through a partnership with the Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons (PAACS), Medical Teams International volunteers provide hands-on training and lectures to the surgical residents of Mbingo Baptist Hospital. The goal of PAACS is to train African surgeons who can serve at Christian hospitals throughout Africa in a way that honors God and provides quality surgical services to the poor. In addition to PAACS, Medical Teams International is also partnering with the Christian Internal Medicine Specialization (CIMS) program at Mbingo Baptist Hospital. CIMS is a residency program designed to train African internal medicine residents in Africa.
Medical Teams International in Cameroon
Medical Teams International sent a medical assessment team to Cameroon in 1997. Since 2004, 19 volunteer teams have provided specialty surgical training for resident physicians and surgical services for community members.
Plans for 2012 - 2013
Medical Teams International will send two training teams for 2-4 weeks each this year. The teams will train resident physicians through hands-on surgical training, internal medicine residency training, and weekly lectures. Their work will increase the capacity of local African physicians to provide quality medical care.
Volunteer physicians with specialties in family medicine, pediatrics, internal medicine, emergency medicine, general surgery, urology, OB/GYN, orthopedics, plastics, pediatric surgery, anesthesiology, ENT, pathology, radiology, oncology, among other specialties are all needed for these teams.
This project requires volunteer nurse midwives, OB/Gyn’s and pediatric specialists. Please see International Volunteer Opportunities for details on how you can volunteer.
Our partner in Camaroon
Medical Teams International is partners with Mbingo Baptist Hospital in Cameroon and is a member of the Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons (PAACS), an association created to address the long-standing shortage of African general surgeons in Africa. The Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons is affiliated with the Christian Medical and Dental Society of North America and receives financial support from its Committee on International Medical Education (COIMEA). In 2008 Mbingo Hospital piloted the new CIMS program, which is administered by the Cameroon Baptist Convention.
You can help save lives in Camaroon
Please consider a donation or find out about volunteering to help save lives in Camaroon.