• Olaoluwa Ezekiel Dada, George William Bukenya, Landry Konan, Celestin Bilong Mbangtang, Setthasorn Zhi Yang Ooi, Paix de Dieu Ngo Makambo, Tangmi Djabo Eric Adrien, Yves Jordan Kenfack, Wah Praise Senyuy, Nancy Abu-Bonsrah, Claire Karekezi, Luxwell Jokonya, Andrew F Alalade, Ignatius Esene, and Ulrick Sidney Kanmounye.
• Research Department, Association of Future African Neurosurgeons, Yaounde, Cameroon; College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Electronic address: olazekiel1968@gmail.com.
• World Neurosurg. 2022 Oct 1; 166: e808e814e808-e814.

BackgroundAfrica bears more than 15% of the global burden of neurosurgical disease; however, it has the lowest neurosurgical workforce density worldwide. The past decade has seen an increase in neurosurgery residency programs on the continent. It is unclear how these residency programs are similar or viable. This study highlights the current status and interdepartmental and regional differences, with the main objective of offering a template for improving the provision of neurosurgical education on the continent.MethodsPubMed and Google Scholar were searched using keywords related to "neurosurgery," "training," and "Africa" from database inception to October 13, 2021. The residency curricula were analyzed using a standardized and validated medical education curriculum viability tool.ResultsCurricula from 14 African countries were identified. The curricula differed in resident recruitment, evaluation mode and frequency, curriculum content, and length of training. The length of training varied from 4 to 8 years, with a mean of 6 years. The Eastern African region had the highest number of examinations, with a mean of 8.5. Few curricula had correlates of viability: ensuring that the instructors are competent (64.3%), prioritization of faculty development (64.3%), faculty participation in decision making (64.3%), prioritization of resident support services (50%), creating a conducive environment for quality education (42.9%), and addressing student complaints (28.6%).ConclusionsThere are significant differences in the African postgraduate neurosurgical education curriculum warranting standardization. This study identifies areas of improvement for neurosurgical education in Africa.Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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