CNIS conducts the Safer Surgery and Obstetrics Program in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, as well as in the towns of Mbarara (Western Uganda) and Gulu (Northern Uganda). The program includes courses for medical practitioners, both on instructor and provider levels.
CNIS was invited to initiate the Essential Surgical Skills (ESS) course in Kampala in 1997, Mbarara in 2000 and Gulu in 2008. CNIS now teaches at least five ESS courses each year throughout the country. The ESS course is now an integral part of the medical school curriculum at Kampala’s Makerere University. With the continuing growth of the medical schools, CNIS looks forward to training many more final-year students at the universities.
As elsewhere in Africa, inguinal hernia is a common problem in Uganda. Through CNIS support, Mbarara University has continued to offer annual Structured Hernia Repair courses to interns at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital since 2004. The course links lectures to practice on realistic manikins and prepares them for their first postings.
In 2006, Uganda’s first Surgical Skills Lab was inaugurated in Mbarara. The lab has run courses continuously there since, increasing the country’s capacity to train and certify physicians, surgeons, and other health professionals in obstetrical and surgical procedures.
In 2008, CNIS conducted its second pilot of the Structured Operative Obstetrics (SOO) course at the Mulago Hospital in Kampala. Using lessons from the initial pilot in Addis Ababa, local faculty members lead the course along with Dr. Jan Christilaw of Vancouver, BC and Dr. Lorraine Woolfod of Oakville ON. CNIS Obstetrical Associate, Dr. Woolford teaches the SOO course in Uganda at least two times per year.
The course continues to receive excellent reception and is now a regular part of the curriculum at the Department of Obstetrics in Kampala and Mbarara. The annual courses are made possible with major support from the BC Women’s Hospital and Health Centre in Vancouver and the Rotary Club of White Rock, BC.
Professor Sam LubogaDirector of the Surgical Capacity Building Project in Uganda
In 2011, a new Memorandum of Understanding was signed between CNIS and the Department of Surgery at Makerere University in Kampala. Professor Sam Luboga is the surgeon in charge of the surgical capacity building project in Uganda which includes Essential Surgical Skills courses for medical officers and FIRST courses to clinical officers and midwifes at district hospitals.
Uganda ESS Directors and Patrons
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Uganda SOO Directors and Patrons
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