International Aid, Inc.

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Need

Lack of trained medical professionals creates capacity and affordability challenges that result in millions of people suffering from lack of modern or appropriate care around the world.

The shortage of trained health professionals is among the main obstacles to strengthening low-income countries’ health systems.

“Strategies for poorer countries include focusing on appropriatly trained workers matched to national health priorities; and orienting curriculum, recruitment and placement at national production and retention” --Source: World Health Organization 2006 World Health Report; Chapter 3, Investing in People

Solution

Ghana Surgical Skills Training Center

International Aid built and opened the Ghana Surgical Skills Training Center in Accra, Ghana in 2005 to provide a long-term resource for advanced medical training.

International Aid is continuously exploring new course development and resources to expand health delivery capacity in orthopedics, laparoscopy, and surgical operating room technology.

Thanks to collaboration by International Aid, Johnson and Johnson and the West African College of Surgeons, which launched this groundbreaking center at Korle bu Hospital, surgeons from any of 15 West Africa countries can access mentoring and training in modern surgical techniques to better serve a population of two million.

The incidence of unintentional, non-fatal, penetrating wounds represents 45 of every 1,000 persons injured annually. A great many of those injured will die of untreated wounds or infection.

Advanced Trauma Operative Management (ATOM) Course

International Aid and a consortium of health-based institutions launched the ATOM Course at Ghana Surgical Skills Training Center, bringing U.S. surgeons and West African surgeons together to improve diagnosis and management of trauma injury patients.

The ATOM Course was developed at Hartford Hospital and the University of Connecticut in association with expert trauma surgeons from the Committee on Trauma of the American College of Surgeons.