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  • Training Matters
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Neurology training in Africa: the Ethiopian experience

Nature Clinical Practice Neurology volume 3, pages 412–413 (2007)Cite this article

The burden of neurological disease is increasing globally, in both developing and developed nations.1 In fact, most disorders of the nervous system occur in developing countries.2 At least 250 million people in the developing world are currently affected by brain disorders. Epilepsy alone affects about 40 million of these people, which represents approximately 80% of all those affected by epilepsy worldwide.3 Ethiopia, as one of the developing nations, experiences this neurological disease burden. A 2007 review of medical admissions into two Ethiopian teaching hospitals revealed that neurological cases make up nearly a quarter of all medical admissions; the majority of these neurological cases are not acquired by infection.4 Although Ethiopia is a nation with a population of approximately 80 million, it is served by only eight practicing neurologists and three neurosurgeons.

A 2006 World Federation of Neurology survey investigating the number and nature of neurology residency programs worldwide disclosed that the majority of training programs (67%) are located in high-income countries and the rest are found in low-income or medium-income countries. At the time of the survey, only 26 neurology training programs were documented in Africa. Eight of these programs were in South Africa, and there were none in the other sub-Saharan countries.5 In a similar survey, looking at neurological services in the nations of Africa, it was documented that only a quarter of these countries had neurology training programs.6

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. M Zebenigus is Chief Resident of the Department of Neurology, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.,

    Mehila Zebenigus

  2. G Zenebe is an Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Neurology, both at Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.,

    Guta Zenebe

  3. JH Bower is an Associate Professor of Neurology at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN, USA.,

    James H Bower

Authors
  1. Mehila Zebenigus
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  2. Guta Zenebe
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  3. James H Bower
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mehila Zebenigus.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Zebenigus, M., Zenebe, G. & Bower, J. Neurology training in Africa: the Ethiopian experience. Nat Rev Neurol 3, 412–413 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncpneuro0531

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ncpneuro0531

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