The Faculty of Medicine at Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) and Mekelle University (MU) have joined forces to set up a centre for gynaecological oncology (GO) in Mekelle. This is one of a total of four centres to be established in Ethiopia as part of the Helping Others through Practical Cancer Education project.
Background:
Types of cancer that specifically affect women are one of the three most common cancer categories in Ethiopia, yet outside the country’s capital, Addis Ababa, and the University of Gondar there are very few facilities for treatment. The result is that women from rural parts of Ethiopia in particular do not have access to adequate treatment.
Activities:
- Running a national workshop on consensus-building, setting standards for GO centres and networking with GO experts from Ethiopia and Germany
- Arranging regular visits by a senior expert from the GO task force
- Setting up a fortnightly interdisciplinary tumour board
- Obtaining regular feedback on the status of the GO centre from Ethiopian and German experts
Impact:
The training provided supports the transfer of knowledge, skills and technologies required for diagnosing, examining, preventing and curing types of cancer that affect women. The training of multipliers is paving the way for newly acquired skills and knowledge to be passed on to future gynaecologists in Ethiopia.