By Aderogba George
The West African College of Physicians (WACP) says it has trained thousands of doctors and developed standards for specialist medical training in West Africa in its 50 years of existence.
The President of the College, Dr Mamadou-Mourtalla Ka, said this at a news conference in Abuja on Saturday as part of activities marking the College’s golden jubilee.
Ka said the College was established in 1976 by African pioneers who took the initiative to build an institution dedicated to training doctors in the West African sub-region in spite of the challenges at the time.
He said the College had grown to include 13 of the 15 countries in West Africa, with efforts underway to establish chapters in the remaining two countries.
According to him, the College has trained specialists across several medical disciplines, including internal medicine and its subspecialties, psychiatry, paediatrics, community health and laboratory medicine.
Ka said the College had produced 4,654 Fellows and 4,030 Members as of April 2026, adding that more doctors would be inducted during the anniversary meeting.
He said the College currently had six faculties; Community Health, Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Laboratory Medicine, Paediatrics and Psychiatry.
The WACP President said the 50th Anniversary Annual General and Scientific Meeting, holding from Oct. 24 to Oct. 28 in Abuja, would provide an opportunity to review the College’s achievements and set priorities for the next 50 years.
He said the meeting would feature scientific presentations, policy discussions and engagements with regional institutions and governments to address emerging health challenges.
Ka said more than 70 scientific papers had been submitted for the meeting, which would bring together more than 1,300 participants to examine issues affecting healthcare across West Africa.
He said a communiqué would be issued at the end of the meeting to communicate the outcomes of the scientific discussions and guide further advocacy.
The WACP President also disclosed that the College conferred its Honorary Fellowship on President Bola Tinubu on Oct. 22 at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
He said the honour, one of the highest the College could bestow, was conferred for only the eighth time in its history.
Ka expressed appreciation to Tinubu, the Federal Government and Nigerians for hosting the College’s golden jubilee meeting.
Also speaking, Dr Benjamin Uzochukwu, National Chairman of the Nigeria Chapter and Vice-President of WACP, said more than 80 per cent of the College’s Fellows and Members were Nigerians.
Uzochukwu said the College had developed a pool of specialists in different medical fields who had returned to their respective workplaces to serve their communities.
He said the College’s training had reduced the need for doctors to travel to Europe for specialist qualifications, as was common before its establishment.
Uzochukwu said the College had also expanded regional medical training by integrating Francophone and Lusophone professionals into its fellowship.
He said the anniversary meeting would examine health policy and clinical issues, including maternal and child health, hospital infrastructure, kidney disease, dementia and mental health.
He added that discussions would address the migration of health professionals, popularly known as the “Japa” syndrome, and the ethical implications of artificial intelligence in medicine.
Uzochukwu said the College would explore factors driving doctors to leave their countries and consider possible solutions through scientific discussions and policy engagement.
On Ebola preparedness, he said the College had activated emergency operations centres and introduced preventive measures to protect delegates attending the anniversary meeting.
He said the Federal Ministry of Health and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention were monitoring the situation and implementing the necessary response measures.
The anniversary programme includes scientific sessions, an opening and induction ceremony, lectures, exhibitions and discussions on the contributions of the College’s six faculties to healthcare across West Africa. (NAN) www.nannews.ng
Edited by Tosin Kolade
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