Access to medical care in Malawi ranks among the most challenging in the world, with only 43 surgeons for the population of 17 million. This represents only 10% of the targeted goal of 2 surgeons per 100,000.
Physicians for Peace is committed to improving access to safe, timely surgical care by educating and training Malawian surgeons, clinical officers, surgical registrars and allied health providers to increase the country’s surgical capacity, quality and resilience. At the invitation of the main teaching hospital in Malawi, our IMEs serve as visiting faculty in the surgical department at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH), typically in 3-month rotations. PFP also supports an operating room dedicated to surgical training activities, including support of the surgical, nursing and anesthesia team that staff it. Our training is expanding to include pediatric ICU nurse training and will continue to grow in support of the multi-disciplinary surgical team. Together with QECH staff and collaborators, Physicians for Peace is striving to bolster surgical training and education so that Malawi’s surgical workforce can continue to grow and strengthen to better serve the overwhelming patient need.
Malawi is at the top of the worldwide list of countries facing a dire shortage of healthcare professionals.
Physicians for Peace is seeking volunteers to participate in its Surgical Training Project in Blantyre, Malawi, in partnership with the University of Malawi College of Medicine and Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (COM/QECH). This project provides surgical education and training to interns, registrars, and clinical officers at QECH, the largest hospital in Malawi. This initiative integrates actively practicing or retired surgeon volunteers as visiting faculty of the Surgical Department at QECH to assist with the Surgical Training Project for a three month period. In this role the volunteer surgeon provides hands-on surgical training in the operation theatre and at the bedside, additional teaching through educational conferences and occasional lectures, and surgical mentorship, aligning with an established General Surgery curriculum.
