Press Releases Archive
03.07.2017
Tübingen joins with international partners to train medical staff in Africa
New health care academy in Gabon will provide doctors and health systems workers for the country and the region
The University of Tübingen and its University Hospitals have joined with international partners to contribute to the founding of a new school for public health in Lambaréné, Gabon. The parties involved in the project signed a cooperation agreement in Tübingen on July 2. The government of the Central African country and the Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné (CERMEL) are working with the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) and the Medical University of Vienna to establish the school. It will be built on the CERMEL campus in Lambaréné and will train future doctors and medical staff for health services in Gabon.
The state of Gabon is the responsible body, and the partner institutions will support the project with research funding and expertise. CERMEL will administer the school and will be responsible for the curriculum and teaching staff. CERMEL researchers will play an active role in training. The Tübingen and Vienna universities, along with the DZIF, are planning scholarship programs and will promote exchanges for students and teaching staff.
Providing training for the population is one of the Gabon government’s key strategic goals. The school will help promote that aim and will strengthen Gabonese health care. “The state of Gabon is committed to a policy of sustainable development in health care.To this end, Gabon is investing in the training of specialist staff and in medical research, in close cooperation with strong partners,” says Professor Dr. Léon Nzouba, Minister of Health in Gabon. “We hope that this school will establish a model for the whole African sphere, particularly in the field of scientific and technical cooperation.”
“The school will complement CERMEL’s research by providing teaching. We will be training students and postgraduates from many countries, from Africa, and especially Gabon,” says Professor Dr. Peter Kremsner of Tübingen’s Institute of Tropical Medicine and the German Center for Infection Research. Kremsner is also president of CERMEL’s administrative council.
“Well-trained staff in health care and medical research is the foundation of an effective health sys-tem. Experienced teachers and trainers from Tübingen will be able to make concrete contributions to curricula, training modules, and workshops. In doing so, we are contributing to the professional qualification and long-term improved medical care of the population,” says Professor Dr. Michael Bamberg, medical director of the Tübingen University Hospitals.
“With this close cooperation with the new school of health care, the University of Tübingen is rein-forcing its international collaboration with Gabon and at the same time, is stepping up to its social responsibilities. Training medical personnel and future administrators is key for a stable health care system,” says Professor Dr. Bernd Engler, University of Tübingen President.
“We are looking forward to the continuation of our longstanding partnership with Lambaréné and Tübingen in this state school for health care in Gabon,” says Professor Dr. Markus Müller, President of the Medical University of Vienna. “The partnership agreement is the basis of a mutually fruitful relationship and an ideal vehicle for exchanging the latest techniques.”
Contact:
Professor Dr. Peter Kremsner
University Hospitals/ University of Tübingen
Institute of Tropical Medicine
Phone +49 7071 29-87179
peter.kremsner[at]uni-tuebingen.de