Views from Africa - Lancet editorial on health care solutions
An editorial in The Lancet identifies glimmers of hope—as well as the worries—in tackling problems related to training and retaining medical staff in Africa. The (MEPI) held its first annual symposium on 7 March 2011, bringing together 240 people from 30 medical schools in Africa and 20 institutions in the U.S., all committed to improving medical education in sub-Saharan Africa. Soon thereafter, the African Society for Laboratory Medicine met for the first time, in Ethiopia, and is undertaking the coordination of top quality laboratory services across Africa.
Views from Africa – Educating accountable health professionals
Francis Omaswa, CEO of the , outlines four steps needed to tackle the health workforce crisis in Africa, in the March 2011 issue of Africa Health. Professor Omaswa characterizes the crisis as widespread shortages, maldistribution, and poor working conditions and points to recent studies and commissions calling for major reforms in the education of health professionals, such as the Lancet Commission report.