The Pan African Surgical Conference 2025 has just ended in Kigali, Rwanda. Mugisha was perfectly placed to join the 530+ Surgical Experts from all parts of the world who attended.
As the current President of the Medical Association of Tanzania, Founder of the Netcare Foundation, a Surgeon at Benjamin Mkapa Hospital, as well as being SWIFTSS faculty (and our in-country lead), Mugisha had much to share and offer. Although he went wearing his ‘many hats’, we were delighted for him to ‘fly the SWIFTSS flag’ and to be able to partly fund his attendance. He said that it was a privilege to be part of the delegation, with much for him to take away, consider and share further.
The theme of this five day long Conference was Strengthening Surgical Systems: A Surgeon in Every District. Plenaries, panel discussions and breakout sessions offered an excellent and full programme. With in-depth discussion providing a blend of experience sharing and advocacy strategies. The conference highlighted the role of collaboration and partnerships in making surgery accessible, affordable and available at least the District level.
The main take aways included:
- A strong message to increase the training of Surgeons, with engagement of all stakeholders holders in academia and politics to exact Surgical policies that are relevant for the continent of Africa specifically.
- Caesarean Section and Hernia Surgery are the most common types of surgical intervention that should be provided at at least a district level. And that these services need to be of high quality, reliability and resilience.
Throughout the conference, Mugisha advocated the importance of embracing innovations and creativity in training and service delivery, particularly in the current era of technology advancement.
There were also several new seeds sewn to foster the agenda of Low Cost Surgical interventions (such as our AMHSI), the importance of exchange programmes and the formation of Communities of Practice.
Well done to the conference organisers for an excellent programme, and to Mugisha for his endless dedication and enthusiasm. As always it is a privilege for us to be involved.
