COSECSA

College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa
Established	December 1999
Location	Arusha, Tanzania
Registrar President	Professor Krikor Erzingatsian Doctor Frederick Mutyaba
Website	http://www.cosecsa.org

The College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA) is an independent body that fosters postgraduate education in surgery and provides surgical training throughout the region of East, Central and Southern Africa.^[1] COSECSA delivers a common surgical training programme with a common examination and qualification.

COSECSA is a non-profit making body that currently operates in 9 countries in the sub-Saharan region: Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

History

COSECSA grew out of the Association of Surgeons of East Africa (ASEA).^[2] ASEA was formally inaugurated in Nairobi, Kenya on the 9th November 1950. In 1996, in response to perceived inadequcies of surgical training in the region, the ASEA steering committee decided to create the College of Surgeons of East & Central Africa (COSECSA). These inadequcies were seen to be the limited capacity of university teaching hospitals' surgical training programmes, the increasing difficulty in accessing UK surgical training programmes at that time^[3] and the variability of training programmes from country to country.

The official inauguration of the College was held in Nairobi in December 1999.^[4] In December 2001, at the first annual general meeting in Lusaka, Zambia the council of the college was elected by the foundation fellows.

Academic Structure

COSECSA has two programmes:

• The Membership: A certificate of competence in surgery at General Medical Officer Grade (minimum 2 years training).
• The Fellowship: A specialist qualification in General, Orthopaedics, Neurosurgery, Urology or Plastic Surgery ( minimum 5 years training).

Members and Fellows

There are 634 members and fellows of the college.

Partner Organisations

• Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
• Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh
• University of Toronto
• ECSA Health Community
• Colleges of Medicine of South Africa (CMSA)

References

1. ^ http://www.cosecsa.org
2. ^ "http://www.africansurgeons.com/C_asea_aboutus.asp"
3. ^ "http://www.bioline.org.br/pdf?is06100"
4. ^ "http://www.health.go.ug/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=68"

External links

• COSECSA Website