• Fatima M Khambaty, Huda M Ayas, and Haile M Mezghebe.
• Office of International Medicine Programs, The George Washington University, 2300 Eye St NW, Ste 708, Washington, DC 20037, USA. fatima.khambaty@gmail.com
• Arch Surg. 2010 Aug 1; 145 (8): 749-52.

ObjectiveTo describe the 1-year experience of a unique postgraduate medical education program set in Eritrea, a recently war-torn country.DesignThe Partnership for Eritrea, a cooperative between The George Washington University Medical Center, Physicians for Peace, and the Eritrean Ministry of Health, formed a surgical residency program, launched January 2, 2008, in Asmara, Eritrea, to train native Eritrean surgeons. No prior residency program (to our knowledge) had existed in Eritrea.SettingEritrea, a country in the Horn of Africa.PatientsFive Eritrean physicians participated in the surgical residency.Main Outcome MeasuresThe number of operations performed, length of stay, antibiotic use, and intravenous fluid use.ResultsThe number of operations increased and resource use decreased because of improved and standardized clinical management.ConclusionsThe Partnership for Eritrea established a general surgical residency program that improved clinical care in a resource-poor country that previously had lacked postgraduate training. The program experience suggests a model that can be reproduced in other developing countries.

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