The College of Anaesthesiologists of East, Central and Southern Africa (CANECSA) has launched a map of the physician Anaesthesiologist workforce in the eight member countries of the College: Eswatini, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The map helps to describe the distribution of the anaesthesiologist workforce at various levels, from national level right down to district level.

The map was produced in collaboration with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA), the College of Anaesthesiologists of Ireland (CAI), Queen’s University Belfast, the Anaesthesiology Association of Uganda and the University of California San Francisco. This work is supported by Irish Aid as part of the “Building Anaesthesia Training in the ECSA Region” collaborative programme.

The anaesthesiologist workforce is dynamic and data will be regularly updated. CANECSA welcomes feedback and updated information, please reach us through admin@canecsa.com Greater detail on the composition of the workforce will be published in a peer reviewed journal in due course.

CANECSA is delighted to announce the publication of the CANECSA Training Manual. The purpose of this manual is to provide basic information about CANECSA training and examinations in one single place. This manual is suitable for CANECSA trainees and prospective trainees, as well as CANECSA trainers and anyone who may wish to know more about the CANECSA training programme. It will also be printed and distributed to CANECSA trainees and trainers in the coming months. It was produced in association with the partners of the “Building Anaesthesia Training in the ECSA Region” Programme, funded by Irish Aid.

See the “Training” page for more information.

Online application 2021-2022 for the CANECSA membership of the College of Anaesthesiologists (MCA) and Fellowship of the College of Anaesthesiologists (FCA) will be open from 1^st December 2020. Both training programmes are for a minimum period of two years.

• MCA is a certificate of competence in anaesthesiology; it is not an exit qualification and does not confer specialist status.
• FCA is an exit qualification conferring specialist status.

Training: Candidates will begin CANECSA training in January 2021 and will be eligible to sit examinations in late 2022. The training will be provided by CANECSA trained and accredited trainers.

Currently CANECSA is working with national regulatory bodies to accredit training institutions in member countries. The registration deadline for the MCA and FCA training programme will be December 31^st every year.

See the CANECSA Training page for more information and details of how to apply.

“This marks a milestone in Anaesthesiology training in East, Central and Southern Africa, and an important step on the road to providing high quality anaesthesia and critical care services to all people in the region, says the registrar” said Dr. Doreen Mashava, CANECSA Registrar.

The College of Anaesthesiologists of East, Central and Southern Africa is deeply saddened to announce the untimely death of Dr Edson Chikumba.

Dr Chikunda joined CANECSA as a Founding Fellow and served as the Chairman of the Finance and General Purposes Committee from 2014.

A memorial service will be held on November 21st. May he rest in peace.

HERE WE ARE – A LONG AWAITED MOMENT FOR CANECSA!

On October 7th, Membership (MCA) and Fellowship (FCA) candidates sat the very first written exams of the College of Anaesthesiologists of East, Central and Southern Africa (CANECSA). The College is thrilled to mark this important occasion in its history. “This has been a long-awaited moment for the College” noted Dr Doreen Mashava, CANECSA Registrar, during her remarks before the start of the exam. A total of 35 candidates sat for the online written examination: 11 Membership and 24 Fellowship candidates. The candidates come from Kenya, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The College has been preparing for this moment since 2009, where the idea of a College of Anaesthesia arose from the East, Central and Southern Africa Health Ministers’ Conference.

“The ministers noted that the quality of training examinations across the region was variable and the numbers trained were insufficient. Thus, the College was officially formed in 2011 aiming to advance education, standards, and research in safe anaesthesia and critical care for the people of East, Central, Southern Africa and beyond” explained Dr Mpoki Ulisubisya, CANECSA President, during the wrap up session with CANECSA country representatives. A governing body was formed including the Examination and Credentials Committee who were on the frontline preparing this exam.

“As we are making this historical milestone in terms of development of the College, you as the candidates you are sitting for the first time. The Membership candidates who will be successful for this exam will sit for another exam in the near future and the Fellow candidates will be having a clinical exam next year” said Dr David Polepole, Chair of the Examination and Credentials Committee during his opening remarks.

Our sincere thanks to our colleagues in the East Central and Southern African Health Community and all of our partners, particularly the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland, the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa, the College of Anaesthesiologists of Ireland, Irish Aid and the anaesthesiology societies from Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi.

CANECSA is now providing a dedicated webpage with information on COVID 19 for Anaesthesiologists – www.cancesa.com/covid with thanks to our partners, the College of Anaesthesiologists of Ireland.

Regularly updated information on COVID 19 for Anaesthesiologists is available here.

Regularly updated information on the COVID 19 pandemic in East, Central and Southern Africa is available here. This information is provided by ECSA-HC.