Training and Scholarships
We help local surgeons serve humanity
Kids Operating Room operates in countries where demand for hospital care is overwhelming. In some places, operating time is given to adults as a priority, and children are only seen if there is enough operating time left at the end of the day. In Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Sierra Leone and Burkina Faso Kids Operating Room provided the first dedicated paediatric operating room in the country. Now with dedicated places to work, what’s needed are more trained medics with the skills to save lives.
Planning ahead with nation partners
In Africa, we are working with the College of Surgeons of East, Central and South Africa (COSECSA) and the West African College of Surgeons (WACS) to focus on the training of paediatric surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses and biomedical engineers. Kids Operating Room is working with nation partners to radically overhaul surgical infrastructure for children’s surgery across Africa by the end of 2030.
With your help we will:
● Create 120 centres of excellence across East and West Africa, each with world-class, state-of-the-art operating rooms, pre and post-operative care.
● Support training for surgeons to work in operating rooms where needed.
● Train anaesthetists to work alongside surgeons.
● Invest in skilled nurses and biomedical engineers to support this expansion.
In 2019, we created capacity for 21,000 operations on children. By the end of 2020 this capacity will have increased to nearly 60,000 operations a year.
Offering surgical training scholarships with Smile Train
We have joined forces with Smile Train to support the training and education of 40 paediatric surgeons across Africa in partnership with WACS and COSECSA.
Students in their first year Fellowship level of College can apply to receive a scholarship, which will cover academic expenses as well as a stipend for living costs. You can read more information about how to apply for the paediatric surgical scholarships below.
Every operation is life-saving or life-changing
Appendicitis, burns, broken bones, accidentally swallowing something dangerous… these things happen to children the world over. They are surgically treatable. By increasing the number of paediatric surgical teams we will bring more parents the desperate relief that comes when you find out your child is going to be ok, and give more children the chance to grow up happy and healthy.
5 times more children die from surgically treatable conditions than from HIV, Malaria and TB combined.