Editors PickNational News

Malawi to have more obstetricians, gynaecologists by 2020

The College of Medicine, a constituent college of the University of Malawi, has introduced a Master of Medicine programme which will result in an increased number of obstetricians and gynaecologists in the country.

The new four-year post-graduate programme is expected to train and produce obstetricians and gynaecologists in Malawi for the first time with assistance from the US government through the Centre for Disease Control.

A press release the US Embassy issued on Sunday indicated that four doctors have been selected as the first cohort class and a new one would be enrolled annually.

“Ultimately, the College of Medicine hopes to produce 32 new obstetricians and gynaecologists by 2020. These physicians will be instrumental in expanding health care services and improving outcomes for women and families in Malawi,” the statement reads.

Training is expected to take place at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre and Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe.

Currently, there are 18 obstetricians and gynaecologists and the figure is expected to rise by 32 in seven years following the introduction of the programme.

Unskilled attendance to pregnant women has been identified as one of the contributors to maternal mortality which currently stands at 675 per 100 000 live births.

In Malawi, it is estimated that there is one obstetricians/gynaecologists per 375 000 women of child bearing age compared to one per 3 817 women in the USA.

Meanwhile, CoM has partnered with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, International Training and Education Centre for Health (I-TECH), and Loma Linda University.

The government of Norway is providing funds to upgrade medical equipment and improve key infrastructure at the CoM facilities.

The programme is expected to be launched today [Thursday].

Related Articles

Back to top button