• Olaoluwa Ezekiel Dada, Joseline Haizel-Cobbina, Efosa Ohonba, George William Bukenya, Lilian Mwende Kitonga, Lorraine Arabang Sebopelo, Daniel Safari Nteranya, Eugene Annor, Kwadwo Antwi Boasiako Nkansah-Poku, Alice Umutoni, Aymar Akilimali, Edwin Samwel Chellunga, Ahmed K Awad, Olga Mbougo Djoutsop, Ulrick Sidney Kanmounye, and Nancy Abu-Bonsrah.
• College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria; Research Department, Association of Future African Neurosurgeons, Yaounde, Cameroon. Electronic address: olazekiel1968@gmail.com.
• World Neurosurg. 2022 Oct 1; 166: e388e403e388-e403.

BackgroundAfrica has an increased burden of neurosurgical diseases with an estimate of 1,986,392 neurosurgical cases, 108,824 neurosurgical case capacity, and 1,877,568 case deficits yearly. Literature suggests that about 8420 neurosurgeons are needed to fill this vast gap. The main objective of this study is to elucidate barriers encountered in pursuing neurosurgery training in the African context.MethodsA cross-sectional electronic survey, developed in English and subsequently translated into French, was utilized. This was disseminated among medical students, medical interns, and junior doctors in all 5 African regions.ResultsA total of 491 responses were received from the following 5 African regions: West Africa (30.5%), East Africa (30.3%), Central Africa (18.1%), North Africa (11.8%), and Southern Africa (9.2%). Of the participants, 55.2% were men and 44.8% were women. Seventy-six percent of respondents were aware of the neurosurgery deficit in Africa. Barriers to pursuing neurosurgery included discouragement from others over lack of an "ideal personality" trait, culture/cultural beliefs as related to gender roles, lack of mentorship, inadequate neurosurgical training opportunities, poor health infrastructure for neurosurgical practice in Africa, poor patient outcomes, and challenges with work/life balance were some of the barriers highlighted to pursuing neurosurgical career on the continent.ConclusionEven with its robust population growth, Africa is not producing enough neurosurgeons to meet the demands of the population due to several barriers. Delineating these challenges and barriers represents an important step in developing sustainable mechanisms for recruitment, training, mentorship, and support of burgeoning African neurosurgeons.Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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