We are a growing neurosurgery training program. The program was established in 2006 and became the first postgraduate neurosurgery training program in East Africa. It has been endorsed by the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA). At that time there were 75 million people in Ethiopia and only 3 neurosurgeons in the entire country. We started off small but over the last 12 years over 30 neurosurgeons have graduated from the program, most of whom remain in this country. Many have started to return to their own regions within the country and are establishing neurosurgery care there. Over the years we have received significant help from the neurosurgery department at the University of Bergen in Norway and volunteers from the Foundation for International Education in Neurological Surgery (FIENS).

We currently have over 40 residents in training in Addis Ababa - they rotate through several hospitals in the city including the Black Lion Hospital (complex brain tumors and spine), Alert Hospital (Trauma), Zewditu Hospital (pediatric and spine) and the Korean Hospital (general neurosurgery). We are looking for volunteers with a strong commitment to education who want to help augment the training of our residents and faculty to help advance the practice of neurosurgery in our country. As with most countries in the developing world we continuously struggle with lack of equipment and resources. We are therefore also looking for guidance in establishing sustainable programs and partnerships to provide more consistent neurosurgical services to the people of Ethiopia.