Anaesthetic manpower development in West Africa

Advances in surgery have been possible worldwide largely due to specialized manpower, innovations in modern anaesthetic techniques and drugs. Shortage of specialist manpower in anaesthesia has continued in West Africa despite various available local postgraduate training programmes. This paper examines the impact of the West African Postgraduate Medical College (WAPMC) training programme on anaesthetic manpower development in the West Africa subregion. Data collected from the records of the WAPMC revealed that from April 1992 to October 1996 a total number of 2,963 candidates attempted the primary examination of the various surgical faculties compared to 93 candidates for anaesthesia--a ratio of 32 prospective surgeons to one anaesthetist. The end point of the training produced 292 Fellows in the five-year period with only six in anaesthesia, i.e., 1 anaesthetist to 49 surgeons. Although the diploma programme of the same College produced 56 graduates in the study period, 53.6% of them were pursuing the Fellowship programme in tertiary institutions. Suggestions are proposed to redress the ever-widening gap between the number of specialist surgeons and anaesthetists in the West Africa subregion.