Building a Comprehensive Cancer Education Program to Increase Clinical Capacity in Mozambique

Abstract 8Background:Worldwide, 14.1 million new cancer cases and 8.2 million cancer-related deaths occur annually. Of global cancer deaths, 65% occur in low- and middle-income countries, where there are not enough medical specialists to provide prevention, screening, and treatment services. For example, there are 245 physicians per 100,000 people in the United States and four physicians per 100,000 people in Mozambique. We undertook this work to investigate how to increase clinical capacity and improve cancer prevention and treatment services to ultimately reduce cancer mortality in Mozambique.Methods:Our education program has three complementary components: Strong partnerships with four academic institutions in Brazil, the Ministry of Health of Mozambique, Maputo Central Hospital, and Mavalane Hospital (Maputo) to develop educational programs and collaborative research; use of technology to implement resource-specific and culturally appropriate telementoring programs; and in-country, hands-on training. ...