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​​​FMIC graduates 14 specialist doctors, set to serve Afghanistan​

​Graduating doctors will ease Afghanistan’s shortage of local skilled specialists

March 11, 2017

Mr Firoz Rasul and Dr Najibullah Safi awarding certificates of specialization to graduate doctors.

Kabul, Saturday 11 March 2017: Afghanistan’s first women doctors specializing in paediatric surgery and pathology are among the 14 doctors awarded certificates of specialization by Mr Firoz Rasul, President of Aga Khan University and representative from Ministry of Public Health today.

The three women, one in pathology and two in paediatric surgery are the first women fully trained in these specialities to practice in Afghanistan. In another first for Afghanistan four graduates, two radiologists, one cardiologist and one woman pathologist are becoming the first specialist doctors to be trained in these disciplines by a hospital in the country.

These specialist doctors are graduates of the Postgraduate Medical Education Programme run by the French Medical Institute for Mothers and Children with assistance from the Governments of Canada and France, who are committed to improving access to health care, particularly for women, newborns and children.  The graduates went through a programme accredited by Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Health and the Aga Khan University’s Department of Postgraduate Medical Education. 

FMIC began providing advanced education to doctors in April 2012 with support of Government of Canada, as a way of building and strengthening the local healthcare system. ​

Besides clinical training in Kabul, residents have to go through a three-month rotation at the Aga Khan University Hospital in Karachi, with exposure in advanced techniques to deal with complex cases.

Mr Kenneth Neufeld, Ambassador of Canada to Afghanistan Mrs Nurjehan Mawani, AKDN’s Diplomatic Representative, Mr Airy Quillere Counsellor Embassy of France in Afghanistan and Dr Eric Cheysson, President of the French NGO La Chaine de l’Espoir shared their remarks during the ceremony.  

PGME residencies are now offered in seven disciplines – paediatric surgery, paediatric medicine, anaesthesiology, cardiology, orthopaedics, pathology and radiology. In 2017, there will be 54 doctors including five women under training. By 2020, programmes in paediatric intensive care, cardiac surgery and obstetrics and gynaecology will have been added.

The event was attended by government officials, representatives from the Canadian and French embassies, AKDN agency heads and civil society.​