Vascular Surgery Training and Practice in West Africa: A Narrative Review of Current Capacity and Challenges

Globally, the burden of peripheral vascular disease and other diseases in the remit of the vascular surgeon has been on the rise. Health systems globally have responded to the rise in the burden of peripheral vascular disease, particularly in their regions, by investing in training, research, and other initiatives to improve access and the quality of care. Unfortunately, regions in the Global South, especially West Africa, have significantly lagged behind.

This narrative review synthesised existing evidence on the current state of vascular surgical training and clinical practice in West Africa using a search strategy across databases, including PubMed, MEDLINE, Google Scholar, African Journal Online, and other credible institutions like the World Health Organisation.

Our article highlights a significant unmet need across West Africa for access to care for patients with vascular diseases. It also found a significant lag in the training of vascular surgeons and the requirement for modern technology to provide the necessary level of modern vascular care. Furthermore, investment in this area across West Africa has been low.

In the West African sub-region, vascular surgery is a specialty with inadequate manpower, while the incidence of vascular disease is increasing in the region. There is a need to improve vascular care through increased training centres and opportunities, incentivised training, local, regional, and global collaboration, in addition to improving local and global funding and investment in the specialty across West Africa.