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WE‐C‐224‐02: The Clinical Medical Physics Situation in Africa
Author(s) -
Ige T,
Nakatudde R,
Seddik Aibn,
Khaled M
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
medical physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.473
H-Index - 180
eISSN - 2473-4209
pISSN - 0094-2405
DOI - 10.1118/1.3613314
Subject(s) - charter , tanzania , the republic , political science , economic growth , geography , environmental planning , law , philosophy , theology , economics
Medical Physics in Africa has evolved over the last half a century from the Republic of South Africa in the southern tip of the continent to Ghana and Nigeria in the Western half and also Kenya, Uganda and United Republic of Tanzania in the Eastern sphere of the region and unto Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Sudan in the Northern part. There is a wide disparity in terms of educational infrastructure and availability of equipment across this very wide geographical landscape to provide the required medical physics services particularly in the health establishments as well as the other areas where the expertise of this cadre of professionals are needed. In terms of human resources capability, the continent can only boast of a slightly more than 300 personnel employed in and around her health facilities and about 60% of these staff are domiciled in just three countries — Egypt, Morocco and Republic of South Africa. An attempt will be made in this paper to discuss the clinical medical physics issues both from the historical perspectives as well as the current state of affairs in the continent which culminated in the recent birth of the Federation of African Medical Physics Organisation (FAMPO) which has just been recently given a charter as the youngest regional body of the International Organisation of Medical Physics (IOMP). Learning Objectives: 1. The Medical Physics infrastructure in terms of equipment and manpower. 2. The Status of Education and Training in Africa. 3. The gaps in the Medical Physics profession that FAMPO intends to address in the continent.