In October of 2023, World Telehealth Initiative Co-founders Sharon Allen and Dr. Yulun Wang made the trek from California to Kigali, Rwanda. They celebrated our new partnership with IRCAD and the opening of IRCAD Africa, the new minimally invasive surgical training institute and research center in Rwanda. This new institute will reshape surgical training in Africa by offering top quality education on safe surgery from experts worldwide in a state-of-the-art facility.

IRCAD’s founder, Prof. Jacques Marescaux, and Dr. Yulun Wang are old friends. Back in 2001, Prof. Marescaux performed the first transatlantic tele-surgery using a robot designed by Dr. Wang. Both visionaries have been on the forefront of medical technology and healthcare transformation for decades. Now, World Telehealth Initiative is working with Prof. Marescaux to increase access to quality surgical care in Africa.

IRCAD has minimally invasive surgery institutes across the world from Taiwan to Brazil. The institute in Rwanda is their first in Africa and will train up to 1,000 surgeons every year. 800 experts from other IRCAD centers worldwide will support the surgical student’s learning and training.

In Africa, surgical patients are twice as likely to die after surgery than the global average. The top reason for these fatalities is infection. The institute will teach more surgeons across the continent how to perform minimally invasive surgery, which is safer, results in faster healing, and lowers the risk of infection.

Students at IRCAD Africa can refine their surgical technique skills using cutting edge simulation technology, including virtual reality platforms to practice in a controlled environment. The training institute also includes a full wet lab for hands-on training in authentic surgical scenarios. It will offer training in an array of specialties from gynecology and orthopedics to neurosurgery and anesthesiology.

World Telehealth Initiative will support IRCAD in teaching and training African surgeons. We donated two telehealth devices to the institute, which will enable surgical experts around the world to teach and mentor IRCAD students remotely. We look forward to supporting the students’ learning and expanding access to safe surgical care across Africa.