Hi!

My name is Ewa and I am now following a 16-week long intensive training plan to complete my first ever marathon to help raise funds for medical trainees at the East, Central and Southern Africa College of Physicians (ECSACOP). You can join me on all my runs here!

What is ECSACOP?

The Scale of the Problem

The global shortage of health workers has been identified by the UN as a major obstacle to sustainable development. Nowhere in the world is this problem more acute than in East, Central and Southern Africa, where there are simply not enough qualified physicians to address the complex healthcare needs of the region’s population. To put the issue into perspective, within Western Europe there is an average of one doctor for every 250 patients; in the countries ECSACOP serves there is one for every 250,000.

This shortage has been an ongoing problem for decades. The current output from the region’s universities is adding fewer than 100 physicians each year (many of whom choose to work in academia, move into private practice, or migrate elsewhere).

In 2015, healthcare leaders from across the region came together with senior figures within the RCP with the aim of finding a way to address the shortage in the longer term and maximise the efficient use of resources in the meantime. The solution they arrived at was ECSACOP.

ECSACOP’s approach

In countries with so few doctors that the majority of citizens will go their whole lives without seeing one, the idea of specialists is often unrealistic. As such, ECSACOP seeks to not only increase the number of physicians working in East, Central and Southern Africa, but also to ensure all those operating in the region have the widest possible knowledge base.

ECSACOP focusses on advancing education and enabling development in its member countries. With a common curriculum and standardised training methodology, the Fellow of the College of Physicians (FCP ECSA) qualification is fast becoming the gold-standard in East, Central and Southern Africa.

The new cadre of physicians that ECSACOP is training will be equipped to lead, manage, and steward the vital resources that can dramatically improve health outcomes for all, including in remote or difficult-to-reach communities. Increasing the number of physicians, and transforming their education at the same time, has the potential to accelerate health equality and inclusive economic growth.

What has ECSACOP achieved?

ECSACOP has a vision of healthy communities through access to well-trained physicians, and since being founded in 2015 has:

• Enrolled over 400 physicians from 6 member countries as Fellows

• Secured regulatory approval for the qualification of FCP (ECSA) in 5 member countries

• Accredited 14 active training sites across 5 member countries

• Completed formal training of over 160 physicians from 6 member countries

• Convened 4 annual scientific conferences for specialist physicians from across the globe to share best practice and research findings

• Signed an MOU with the Royal College of Physicians to provide mentorship, technical support, access to external experts, and professional fundraising support

• Collaborated with the World Health Organization on a regional model for communication and digital learning in response to the COVID-19 pandemic

• Created a Virtual Learning Environment to address the challenges faced by physicians/trainees in a region of 1.2m square miles with a population of 207m

These are achievements are impressive, but, with the right support, ECSACOP can do so much more in the future. The organisation is on track to become financially independent within the next decade. Until then, its continued development is dependent on the generosity of charitable trusts and individual donors.

Thank you so much for your support of the ECSACOP and my personal journey!