Jhpiego now targets empowering specialists on safe surgery

Dr Augustino Hellar shares knowledge and experience in Morogoro.

What you need to know:

  • Surgeons, under their umbrella associations in Tanzania are now set to undergo training on how to carry out safe surgery, thanks to a project run by Jhpiego, an international NGO affiliated with Johns Hopkins University.
  • They include the Tanzania Surgical Association (TSA), Society of Anesthesiologists of Tanzania (SATA), Association of Gynecologists and Obstetricians Tanzania (AGOTA), Tanzania Midwives Association (TAMA) and Tanzania National Nurses Association (TANNA).

Morogoro. More than 30 specialists from medical professional associations in Tanzania are set to undergo training on how to carry out safe surgery, thanks to a project run by Jhpiego, an international NGO affiliated with Johns Hopkins University.

Since last year, Jhpiego partnered with the Tanzanian government to improve the availability of safe surgical care under the project dubbed, Safe Surgery 2020(SS2020).

The associations being targeted for empowerment are the Tanzania Surgical Association (TSA), Society of Anesthesiologists of Tanzania (SATA), Association of Gynecologists and Obstetricians Tanzania (AGOTA), Tanzania Midwives Association (TAMA) and Tanzania National Nurses Association (TANNA).

Specialists under the associations are now attending a two-day grooming session in Morogoro Region as part of the project, funded by GE Foundation and ELMA Philanthropies, and implemented by Jhpiego in Tanzania.

The SS2020 project Director in Tanzania Dr Augustino Hellar said the specialists are being brought together to share knowledge and experience on the use of various tools, guidelines, and surgical procedures.

This, he said, includes observing the World Health Organization’s surgical safety checklist which helps surgeons to minimize errors when carrying out surgery. The training is in line with the National Surgical, Obstetric and Anesthesia Plan (NSOAP).

NSOAP, which was launched in Match this year, identifies ways to strengthen the building blocks of the surgical health system, bringing together all relevant stakeholders and resources towards a common goal.

Dr Hellar said, the SS2020 project, is now ensuring the creation of a sustainable program so that participants may can adopt the skills to and implement it in other regions since the project now covers only Mara and Kagera Regions.

Dr Hellar said, “The main objective is to reduce surgical morbidity and improve outcomes related to surgery including cesarean section, and it is collaborating with [the government]...” We hope this meeting will help to scale up the skills to another regions” he added.

Tanzania is among two countries in Africa including Ethiopia where Safe Surgery is being implemented.

It is estimated that an average of specialist surgical workforce in our country is at 177 specialist surgeons (0.36 per 100,000 population) and 22 Anesthesiologists (0.05 per 100,000 population) and mostly 85 percent of these surgeons’ practice in major cities and Dar es Salaam being one which has 64 per cent of the them.

Dr Hellar said that surgery is required in treating nearly all diseases, trauma, and obstetric emergencies. “It is an essential part of a health system,” he hinted.

However, data show that only 1 out of every 20 people in Africa and South Asia can access to surgical care when they need it and globally, 17 million people die every year and millions more suffer preventable disabilities because hospitals cannot provide basic surgery.