SHORT REPORT Geriatric medicine: services and training in Africa CATHERINE L OUISE DOTCHIN 1,3 ,RUFUS OLUSOLA AKINYEMI 1,2 ,WILLIAM KEITH GRAY 3 ,RICHARD W. WALKER 3 1 Care of the Elderly, Institute for Ageing and Health, Campus for Ageing and Vitality Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE4 5PL, UK 2 Neurology, Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta, Nigeria 3 Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, North Tyneside General Hospital, Rake Lane, North Shields, NE29 8NH, UK Address correspondence to: C. L. Dotchin. Tel/fax: +44 1912932709. Email: catherine.dotchin@ncl.ac.uk Abstract Background: the population is ageing globally and developing countries are experiencing the most rapid increase in the number of older persons. By 2045 the United Nations estimate that for the first time in history more people will be over 65, than under 15, years of age. The World Health Organization predicts that deaths from non-communicable dis- eases will rise by 24% in Africa in the next decade. The aim of this survey was to determine the specialist medical ser- vices available for older persons and the undergraduate and postgraduate training systems in place for geriatrics in each African country. Methods: a short survey was developed and sent to representatives from every country. Where appropriate, French and Portuguese translations were available. Results: responses were received from 40/54 countries (74%). Data were obtained via an internet search for a further three countries. Out of 43, 25 countries had no geriatricians. Out of 40, 35 countries had no formal undergraduate training for medical students on geriatrics and 33 of 40 countries reported no national postgraduate training scheme for geriatrics. Having at least one geriatrician in the country was associated with a World Bank upper middle-income status (P = 0.04), but there was no significant association with the population size (P = 0.395). Conclusion: despite increasing numbers of older people and the increasing burden of chronic disease there are few geriatricians in Africa. Without undergraduate training, even general medical physicians will have limited knowledge of specialist geriatric needs. This is an area that will require development and investment in the future. Keywords: geriatric medicine, Africa, medical education, non-communicable diseases, older people Introduction ‘In Africa, it is said that when an old man dies, a library vanishes’, quoted Kofi Annan, the Ghanaian then Secretary General of the United Nations (UN) at the second UN World Assembly on Ageing (2002). Older persons in African soci- eties have historically been respected and revered, but have accounted for a minority of the population. However, the world’ s population is ageing and older persons make up a larger proportion of society than ever before. It is estimated that nearly two-thirds of the world’ s population aged over 60 years are living in developing countries [1], and by 2050, 212 million of those will live in Africa [2]. The ageing and urbanisation of many African societies [3] and improved treatment for infectious diseases means that older persons, with chronic disease and morbidity, will be a major burden for health-care services in years to come [4]. It is projected that world-wide, by 2030, the 10 diseases causing the most disability-adjusted life years in low-income countries will include depression, ischaemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and cataracts [4]. Recognising the increasing global problem of non- communicable diseases (NCDs), the UN recently held a high-level General Assembly meeting; only the second ever 1 Age and Ageing 2012; 0: 1–5 doi: 10.1093/ageing/afs119 © The Author 2012. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Geriatrics Society. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com Age and Ageing Advance Access published September 30, 2012 by guest on May 18, 2016 http://ageing.oxfordjournals.org/ Downloaded from