Dr. Elizabeth DeVos is associate professor of emergency medicine and medical director for international emergency medicine education at University of Florida in Jacksonville. Her lecture, “Emergency Medicine in Africa: Building Systems to Meet Sustainable Development Goals,” addressed what emergency medicine is, why it is important globally, and what methods are used in training.
Emergency medicine in Sub-Saharan Africa first started in South Africa. By 2009, the African Federation for Emergency Medicine (AFEM) was created with 11 member countries. Currently, the AFEM has over 2000 members and over 25 member countries. Dr. DeVos considered the many Sustainable Development Goals that would be impacted by improved emergency medical care in Africa. She explained that emergency medicine is established in many countries in response to medical events such as disasters or epidemics.
Dr. DeVos also discussed the contexts of emergency medicine in Rwanda, highlighting the need for more physicians. She detailed her own work with an emergency medical training program started in Rwanda, which is currently educating the first Rwandan-trained emergency doctors. Finally, she talked about emergency medical training models, their strengths and pitfalls, and the outcomes of increasing emergency medical training in multiple countries.