The Pediatric Anesthesia Training in Africa (PATA) program aims to improve perioperative care for children by building education capacity for pediatric anesthesia training at teaching hospitals across the continent. The primary objective of PATA is to support the development of five new pediatric anesthesia fellowship programs in five African countries. Currently, PATA supports fellowships in Nigeria, Zambia, and Uganda.
An estimated 1.7 billion children globally lack access to safe, high-quality surgical care and anesthesia, most of whom live in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Many African countries cannot meet the recommended minimum physician-anesthesia provider ratio of 5 per 100,000 population. Most African countries have fewer than 0.5 providers per 100,000 population.
Investing in pediatric anesthesia training programs and educating future pediatric anesthesia leaders is vital to improving perioperative care for children in Africa. Training site initiatives include the development of a standardized context-appropriate pediatric anesthesia curriculum, including interactive e-learning modules and establishing pediatric anesthesia fellowship programs using a staged model in partnership with local training institutions and professional societies.
This five-year project is foundational to establishing a cadre of pediatric anesthesiology leaders working in country-specific educational hubs in Africa with the capacity to train new pediatric anesthesiologists.
