Globally, over 5 billion people lack access to safe, affordable and timely surgical care with the majority being in sub-Saharan Africa. The College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA) has trained more than 700surgeons with a Fellowship qualification. These Fellows have become part of the specialist surgical workforce in the region. However, there is a paucity of global surgery research originating from the region, with most of the research being from and done by colleagues from HICs.
Through funding support from the Intuitive Foundation, COSECSA is inviting trainees and fellows to apply and be part of the Global Surgery Research Mentorship Program. In addition to research mentorship, successful applicants will be offered a Small Research Grant of up to US$ 5,000 to support the implementation of their projects. They will also have an opportunity to participate in a Research Course that will be organized during the COSECSA conference in Ethiopia (in-person or online). Topics that will be given priority are on Patient Outcomes, Surgical Systems Improvement, Surgical Simulation and Technology, and Surgical Training.
The overarching aim of this program is to support COSECSA fellows and trainees and prepare them to be future global surgery researchers and surgeon scientists to contribute towards the generation of scientific evidence of importance in practice and policy in the region and beyond. The program will also prepare them to undertake more structured research programs for example PhD.