For the fourth consecutive year, a multidisciplinary team spearheaded by physicians from Cooper University Health Care’s Division of Critical Care Medicine traveled to Africa to deliver advanced medical education, significantly expanding critical care capacity in East Africa.
The initiative, known as AFRI(Crit), conducted training sessions across two countries from Oct. 1 to 10, extending its reach this year into Ethiopia and Tanzania.
The volunteer faculty included physicians from Cooper University Health Care and institutions across the U.S., including Medstar-Washington Hospital Center, Kaiser Permanente, Thomas Jefferson University, and Temple University. The collaboration aims to foster self-sustaining, locally led medical education.
Advanced training across two nations
During the visit, the AFRI(Crit) faculty taught specialized, intensive courses:
- Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: The team conducted a Neurocritical Care course and introduced the Standard Educational Ventilatory Assistance (SEVA) course, a ventilator management program developed by Cleveland Clinic. This marks the first time SEVA was taught in sub-Saharan Africa.
- Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: The group taught SEVA again, in addition to Emergency Neurologic Life Support (ENLS) training.
A major milestone for the program’s goal of sustainability was achieved in Tanzania this year, where local physicians were able to independently teach the Fundamentals of Critical Care Support (FCCS) course, a skill set built upon Cooper’s prior educational foundation.
“It’s incredibly rewarding to see how much this initiative has grown in just four years,” said Dr. Nitin Puri, head of the Division of Critical Care Medicine at Cooper, who spearheaded the project. “Each year, our partnerships deepen, and we see more local leadership and teaching capacity develop. It’s a privilege to collaborate with such dedicated colleagues in Ethiopia and Tanzania to strengthen critical care education.”
The entirely self-funded AFRI(Crit) mission has successfully taught new skills to more than 500 physicians over the last four years, continuing to expand through volunteerism and a shared commitment to improving global critical care training. The program maintains long-standing relationships with key health care institutions in both Addis Ababa and Dar es Salaam.
