Global Sites & Educational Partnerships

Building Sustainable Anesthesiology Training in The Gambia

The Department of Anesthesiology at UC Davis has launched a Global Health Initiative focused on The Gambia, where critical shortages in anesthesia care continue to limit access to safe surgery and perioperative services. The Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital (EFSTH) in Banjul—the country’s primary tertiary care center—serves as the hub of surgical care but faces significant constraints, including a limited anesthesia workforce, resource and infrastructure challenges, and a high burden of unmet surgical need.

Following the establishment of a formal Memorandum of Understanding, Niroop Ravula, M.B.B.S., F.R.C.A.  visited EFSTH in January 2026, where he met with Lamin Jaiteh, M.D. Chief of Surgical Services, and delivered Grand Rounds. This visit marked an important step in building a collaborative, longitudinal partnership.

As part of this initiative, UC Davis is launching a structured anesthesiology lecture series to support physician training at EFSTH. The curriculum focuses on core perioperative physiology and pathology, alongside practical anesthetic management tailored to resource-variable environments. In parallel, the program aims to embed UC Davis residents and fellows in supervised clinical rotations at EFSTH, working alongside Gambian nurse-anesthetists and local faculty. These rotations are designed to promote bidirectional learning, strengthen clinical training, and support sustainable workforce development.