“I developed the desire to manage musculoskeletal ailments during my undergraduate training when there was a rapid increase in musculoskeletal trauma due to road traffic accidents in the country,” writes Dr. Isaac Kajja, the Chair of the Department of Orthopaedics at the Mulago teaching hospital of Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda.
Dr. Kajja trained at Makerere University for both his undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, and completed his training at the University of Pretoria in South Africa and the University of Assiut in Egypt. He also completed his PhD at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands.
Dr. Kajja first learned of HVO when he enrolled in postgraduate training at Makerere University in 1998. He writes, “The HVO teams with which I interacted have shaped me in a number of ways and I was fascinated by their kindness …Their critical thinking and inquisitive approach during their facilitated seminars and workshops prompted/inspired me to pursue PhD studies from which I graduated in 2010.”
Now head of the Department of Orthopaedics at Makerere’s Mulago Hospital, Dr. Kajja is calling on HVO members to volunteer their time and talent to work with the new classes of students. Knowing the benefit of working with HVO volunteers from his own education, Dr. Kajja believes the HVO project will continue to improve the essential practice of orthopaedics in Uganda. He writes:
Working with HVO will assist the staff and my institutions in a number of ways: impart knowledge and skills to staff, improve collaborative research between my university and international partner universities, [further] development of orthopedics super-specialties at Makerere teaching hospital in Mulago …”
HVO’s orthpaedics project in Uganda is seeking all orthopaedic volunteers to work with the residents; the project also has need of additional training for residents and physicians in: spine surgery, hand, reconstructive surgery, pediatrics, arthroscopic surgery and musculoskeletal oncology.
An Ongoing Need for Volunteers
At Dr. Kajja points out, the number of roadside accidents in Uganda is extremely high. Today, Uganda has the second highest rate of road accidents in Africa and the world after Ethiopia. According to the World Health Organization’s Global Status Report on Road Safety 2013, Uganda is named among countries with alarmingly high road accident rates. Musculoskeletal injuries in Uganda occur mainly because of road traffic crashes.
With the high rate of trauma and a growing population of more than 37 million, Uganda has a continued need for trained orthopaedists. As an HVO volunteer, you can provide essential teaching, training and professional collaboration to students, staff and faculty at Mulago hospital. To begin the volunteer placement process, complete the volunteer application or contact us to learn more.