Development of a Surgical Textbook at the Gondar University Hospital, Ethiopia

A project of the International Medical Health Organization (IMHO) USA October 2011

Improving Patient Care. Empowering the Next Generation of Doctors.

The faces above represent just a few of the more than 6 million people who live in the catchment area of the Gondar University Hospital in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia and stand to benefit from an improved surgical unit. Established in 1954 as a medical college, Gondar Hospital plays the premier role in providing high quality care, including advanced and specialized care, for the people who live there. With a long history of underdevelopment, the statistics for the Amhara Region are quite staggering:

*90.4% of the rural community has no access to potable water *56% lack health services *53.7% of school age children do not have access to any education *46.3% of children ever finish primary education *6.3% of children ever finish secondary education

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A project of the International Medical Health Organization (IMHO) USA October 2011

Budget:

Item Qty Cost per unit

(USD$)

Total Cost per

year Stipend for residents’ efforts

5 $75/ month

$4,500

Stipend for staff efforts (research, writing, etc.)

2 $50/ month

$1,200

Printing x x $8,000 Team workshops

4 $600/ each

$2,400

Computers 2 $600/ each

$1,200

Supplies (office supplies, phone, postage, photocopies, etc.)

x x $2,500

Misc./10% contingency

x x $1,980

TOTAL

$21,780

Make a Contribution All donations made to the International Medical Health Organization (IMHO) are tax-deductible (tax ID# 59-3779465), and a tax receipt will be promptly issued to you after receipt of your donation. Please make checks payable to “IMHO” and earmark for “Ethiopia Surgical Textbook”, then mail them to:

IMHO Treasurer PO Box 61265 Staten Island, New York 10306

You may also donate online at www.TheIMHO.org or on our

Razoo project page HERE.

At present, medical faculty at the Gondar University Hospital use outdated Western textbooks to study and teach about surgical procedures. These standard textbooks do not effectively address many of the issues common in Ethiopia or how to treat them given local resource constraints, and thus, instructors face a difficult task in teaching medical students with such inadequate resources. Residents and medical students’ seminar presentations are also dependent on these textbooks, and suffer as a result of a lack of locally prepared texts. Developing a strong and modern surgical textbook that makes specific consideration for the Ethiopian context will ultimately benefit medical students and serve to decrease patient morbidity/mortality rates and improve overall care. In preparing for the production of this textbook, the hospital will undertake an evaluation of the specific issues faced by patients and collect relevant data, expertise, and knowledge from key surgeons, residents, and staff at the surgical department. The hospital has experience implementing a similar project in the past…six years ago a textbook for nurses and health officers proved extremely successful in increasing students’ rates of interest and satisfaction, and in better educating these persons to provide a higher quality of care to patients. Please support IMHO as we endeavor to take on this important effort in collaboration with the Gondar University Hospital. We will provide regular updates of this project on our website and in future e-newsletters. Please support this vital effort and help to ensure a brighter future for both doctors and patients in Gondar. Thank you!

Urgent Need for a Modern Surgical Textbook in Ethiopia