Neurosurgery in Ethiopia: A New Chapter and Future Prospects

Area of Science:

• Global Health
• Neurosurgery
• Surgical Capacity Development

Background:

• Neurosurgical care access is inequitable in low-income countries (LICs), with Ethiopia facing resource constraints.
• Ethiopia's health resources are largely consumed by infectious diseases, malnutrition, and other prevalent conditions.
• Developing surgical capacity is crucial for achieving universal health coverage in nations like Ethiopia.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide an updated assessment of the current state of neurosurgery in Ethiopia.
• To identify key areas for future development of neurosurgical capacity.
• To integrate neurosurgical services as a component of universal health coverage in Ethiopia.

Main Methods:

• Utilized publicly available data from international organizations.
• Conducted a preliminary bibliometric analysis of neurosurgical scholarly output in Ethiopia and other LICs via PubMed.
• Employed statistical analysis to examine the correlation between neurosurgeon numbers and academic productivity.

Main Results:

• Neurosurgeon density in Ethiopia increased over 20-fold between 2006 and 2020 (0.0022 to 0.045 per 100,000 population).
• Higher neurosurgeon numbers strongly correlated with increased total publications and new publications annually (P < 0.001).
• Despite workforce growth, neuroimaging equipment (38 CT, 11 MRI for 112M people) and facility distribution (12 urban centers) remain inadequate.

Conclusions:

• International partnerships significantly advance neurosurgical capacity in LICs by training local surgeons.
• Future collaborations must align workforce expansion with enhanced availability of essential diagnostic and surgical equipment.
• Sustainable progress in Ethiopian neurosurgery requires synchronized efforts in personnel and infrastructure development.