Surgery in the Horn of Africa: a 1-year experience of an American-sponsored surgical residency in Eritrea.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the 1-year experience of a unique postgraduate medical education program set in Eritrea, a recently war-torn country.


METHODS
The Partnership for Eritrea, a cooperative between The George Washington University Medical Center, Physicians for Peace, and the Eritrean Ministry of Health, formed a surgical residency program, launched January 2, 2008, in Asmara, Eritrea, to train native Eritrean surgeons. No prior residency program (to our knowledge) had existed in Eritrea.


METHODS
Eritrea, a country in the Horn of Africa.


METHODS
Five Eritrean physicians participated in the surgical residency.


METHODS
The number of operations performed, length of stay, antibiotic use, and intravenous fluid use.


RESULTS
The number of operations increased and resource use decreased because of improved and standardized clinical management.


CONCLUSIONS
The Partnership for Eritrea established a general surgical residency program that improved clinical care in a resource-poor country that previously had lacked postgraduate training. The program experience suggests a model that can be reproduced in other developing countries.
Khambaty
Fatima M
FM
Office of International Medicine Programs, The George Washington University, 2300 Eye St NW, Ste 708, Washington, DC 20037, USA. fatima.khambaty@gmail.com
Ayas
Huda M
HM
Mezghebe
Haile M
HM
D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D019017:Eritrea; D013502:General Surgery / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency / Q000458:organization & administration*; D016730:Program Development; D055818:Public-Private Sector Partnerships / Q000458:organization & administration*; D013514:Surgical Procedures, Operative / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States