DZIF 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 German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) and 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.CERMEL is one of four African Partner Institutions of the DZIF.
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.
Press Release University of Tübingen
Image (From left to right): Jean Marie Maguena, Ambassador of Gabon; Prof. Dr. Martin Krönke, Chairman of Executive Board, German Center for Infection Research; Gabriele Sonntag, Commercial Director, University Hospital Tübingen; Prof. Dr. Léon Nzouba, Minister of Health in Gabon; Prof. Dr. Bernd Engler, President of Tübingen University; Prof. Dr. Peter Kremsner, President of CERMEL’s administrative council; Prof. Dr. Markus Müller, President of Medical University of Vienna.