Abstract:
INTRODUCTION: One urgent goal of countries in sub-Saharan Africa is to dynamically scale up the
education and work force of medical doctors in the training institutions and health facilities, respectively.
These countries face challenges related to the rapid scale up which is mostly done without proper
strategic planning, without the basic elements of infrastructure development, educational as well as
academic and administrative human resources. Medical education done in the context of limited
resources is thus compromising the quality of graduates. In the future, a collaborative and need-based
approach involving major stakeholders such as medical educators concerned, ministries, planners and
policy makers is needed.
GOAL: This article identifies the challenges of establishing medical schools and sustaining the quality of
education through rapid scale-up in Sub-Saharan Africa in the settings of limited resources. It also
outlines the minimum requirements for establishing medical schools.
METHODS: A consensus building workshop was conducted in Bishoftu, Ethiopia, from Nov 8-12,2013.
Participants were professionals from 13 Ethiopian medical schools, and representatives of medical
schools from South Sudan, Somaliland, Somalia, and Mozambique. Participants are listed in Appendix 1.
RECOMMENDATIONS: The governments and stakeholders should jointly develop strategic plans and a
roadmaps for opening or expanding medical schools to scale up educational resources. It is advisable
that medical schools have autonomy regarding the number of student-intake, student selection,
curriculum ownership, resource allocation including for infrastructure and staff development. Health
science and medical curricula should be integrated within and harmonized nationally. An educational
evaluation framework needs to be embedded in the curricula, and all medical schools should have Health
Science Education Development Centers
