Maternal Health Obstetrics & Gynecology Residency Training Program

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Malawi has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. The lack of skilled health professionals to care for complex obstetrical conditions is a major contributing factor. Until recently, there were no formal OB/GYN residency training programs in Malawi, requiring Malawian physicians to emigrate to other countries to receive specialist training in women’s health. In 2012 there were only 11 trained OB/GYNs in the entire country of 16 million people.

In 2013 Texas Children's and Baylor College of Medicine partnered with the Government of Malawi, the University of Malawi College of Medicine and other international institutions to implement the first Malawian postgraduate training program in OB/GYN. Texas Children's and Baylor are committed to the mission of strengthening health care services by committing full-time US OB/GYN faculty at Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe, the capital city.

In addition to building the educational capacity of the Malawi residency program through bedside teaching and formal classroom education, they also provide direct patient care and treatment of extremely complex obstetrical and gynecological conditions. The faculty also supervise the training of visiting U.S. OB/GYN medical students, residents and Fellows. This bidirectional education provides an opportunity for American health care learners to be part of an international health care team that personally contributes to improving global health. They face the challenges of providing medical care in a low resource setting and treat a diverse array of medical conditions not typically seen in the United States.