The College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA) is a professional body that fosters postgraduate education in surgery and provides surgical training throughout the East, Central and Southern Africa region. The College was founded in 1999. It is a non-profit making body that currently operates in 14 countries in the Sub-Saharan region: Botswana, Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The primary objective of the College is to advance education, training, standards of practice and research in surgical care in this region. COSECSA shapes and leads the training, examination, and accreditation of surgeons in the East, Central and Southern Africa (ECSA) region. The College delivers a common surgical training programme with a common examination and an internationally recognized surgical qualification.
COSECSA provides a comprehensive Membership programme in Basic Surgery and Fellowship Programme in Orthopedics; ENT; Urology; Pediatric Surgery; Neurosurgery; Plastic Surgery; and General Surgery.
Vision: - To be the reference surgical body in the region of East, Central and Southern Africa and beyond.
Mission: - The Mission of the College of Surgeons is to promote excellence in Surgical Care, Training and Research.
OBJECTIVES
The Objectives, for which the College of Surgeons is established are:
(a) To promote, organize and conduct postgraduate education and training in surgery and related specialties and allied disciplines and promote the highest level of skills, attitudes and efficiency in their practice.
(b) To promote and encourage research in surgical and allied arts and sciences; and
(c) To promote the integrity of the surgical and allied professions and to cultivate and maintain the highest ethical standard and professional conduct.
COLLEGE GOVERNANCE
The College is governed by the Council which is responsible for overall supervision and organization of the College. The Council is composed of the President, Vice President, Secretary General, Assistant Secretary General, Treasurer, the Chairs of the Standing Committees, Registrar, two Country Representatives (CRs) elected from each member country, Overseas Fellows Representative, the Editor of the East and Central African Journal of Surgery (ECAJS), the immediate past President in the year following their presidency.
The Executive Committee (EC) manages the affairs of the College, is elected by the Council and reports to and is accountable to the Council. The EC is composed of the President, Vice President, Secretary General, Assistant Secretary General, the three chairs of the Standing Committees and the Registrar.
The Standing Committees are the Education, Scientific and Research Committee (ESRC), the Finance and General Purposes Committee (FGPC) and the Examinations and Credentials Committee (ECC).
The Secretariat manages the day-to-day affairs of the College under the leadership of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) who is appointed by the Council and is answerable to the Council through the Secretary General.
MAIN OUTCOMES AND ACHIEVEMENTS
• COSECSA administers and grants a number of scholarships in Collaboration with Partners as a way to promote surgical education in the region
• COSECSA has now graduated a total of 910 surgeons in the ECSA region
• COSECSA has developed curricula for various specialties including Upper Gastrointestinal, Lower Gastrointestinal and Surgical Endoscopy. These were endorsed
by the College Education, Scientific and Research committee and approved by the Council. Panel heads of each specialty were selected and onboarded. The
College further reviewed the existing Plastic Surgery curriculum and developed an online Plastic Surgery Curriculum that has been uploaded on the College online platform (School for Surgeons) and accessed by all COSECSA Plastic Surgery Trainees and fellows.
• Revised Examination Standard Operating Procedures
• The blueprint for the MCS level OSCE exams for 2023 and 2024 have been developed. A total of 48 OSCE brand new cases were successfully developed and made
ready for implementation and, a community of practice of OSCE writers was established
• Installation of the New Admission Systems to support the Surgeon Training Programme through automation and better management of student Admissions Process.
• Trauma and Orthopedic basic courses and 3 new regional guidelines on Ankle Fracture, Femoral Shaft Fracture and Open Tibial for Trauma and Orthopaedics
• 89 Surgeons supported through scholarships to undertake the COSECSA Surgical Training Programme in 2024 out of 244 applications.
• Increased capacity of the plastic surgeons through Exchange and Post Fellowship Programmes
• COSECSA is successfully registered and licensed as a CPD Provider by the Medical Council of Tanganyika (MCT) vide Registration No: MCTCPDP72 and has since conducted a CPD Online Research Methodology Course. Over 28 Trainees and Fellows participated in this 20Point CPD activity.
• Increased Training sites from 139 to 143, hence increase in the enrolment capacity of the College
• The College with support from collaboration partners offers Research grants to Trainees and Fellows to improve the Capacity of COSECSA young surgeons and strengthen the research activities in the region and prepare young surgeons into future global surgery researchers and surgeon scientists to contribute to scientific publications and enable them to undertake Post-fellowship Research training programs.
• No of trainers increased from to 904 in 2024 from 731 in 2023 through Training of Trainers and Master trainer workshops in the countries
• 300+ district level providers trained through the Essential Surgical training in rural areas in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Zambia and Uganda.
• A REDCap Database has been developed and hosted at COSECSA Secretariat, 10 Accredited Hospitals identified to undergo audit practice. A pilot phase completed, 9 hospitals received ethical clearance to conduct surgical audit (Phase 2).
• A Cross-Sectional study of the Specialist Surgeon Workforce in East, Central and Southern and Africa was completed and is yet to be published.
• The Installation of the REIMS to shortened the IRB turnaround time increased.
• COSECSA has continued to attract more Countries to Join as full members states. Somalia has applied and made a presentation at the Council Meeting in December 2023
In January 2021, COSECSA launched its strategic plan for the period 2021-2025 with the following goals.
(a) Achieve excellence in training and research, and maintain Best Practice in Examinations and Assessment
(b) Quality Surgical care
(c) Build to organizational excellence and financial sustainability
The strategic plan 2021 - 2025 sets to achieve the following results:
(a) Graduate 1000 Surgeons by 2025
(b) Increase the number of accredited hospitals
(c) Increase the number of trainers by 100
(d) Develop an award in recognition of Programme Directors' contribution to COSECSA's training model
(e) Increase the number of female trainees to 20%
(f) Conduct one clinical case writing workshop per year
(g) Gain recognition of CPD courses across Member Countries
(h) Invest in IT and Trainee Management platforms
(i) Increase internal and external resources by 50%
PROGRAMME BENEFICIARIES AND STAKEHOLDERS
(a) Medical school graduates
(b) Accredited training facilities
(c) Medical boards of member countries
(d) Surgical societies of member countries
(e) COSECSA council
(f) Ministries of Health
(g) The Population at large