Each year more than 600,000 people in Africa die after surgery because of complications such as sepsis and haemorrhage. This is twice the global average.

Patients who survive not only have lowered life expectancy and poorer quality of life, but managing the ongoing medical complications often results in financial hardships for many families.

But thanks to multimillion-rand funding that’s been secured by the University of Cape Town (UCT), the continent is set to gain advanced surgical skills and be a hub to more centres of research in surgery.

This week UCT said the R52m funding, which it has secured in partnership with Queen Mary University of London, will see the establishment of centres of research excellence in four African countries with the aim of saving lives of patients who undergo life-saving surgery. The centres, which will be in SA, Tanzania, Uganda and Ethiopia aim to improve patient safety and outcomes in Africa.

Anaesthesiologist Prof Bruce Biccard from UCT’s department of anaesthesia and perioperative medicine, who is spearheading the research project, said the multimillion- rand grant  from the UK-based National Institute for Health and Care Research, “will save many lives across Africa while improving people’s long-term health and reducing their financial strain after life-saving surgery”.

“It’s clear that patients in Africa need better pre-, intra- and post-surgical care than they now receive. Through our research and working closely with local health systems and those on the ground, we want to introduce safer and more effective practices, bring about the necessary policy changes, and train future African researchers.”

It is hoped that the research project will save up to 300,000 lives a year.

Currently the number of Africans who experience complications after surgery is significantly higher than the world average — with one in five on the continent dealing with complications such as sepsis and haemorrhage.

Biccard said the centres of excellence will also have a major role in supporting current African researchers interested in improving surgical care, combined with research training for the next generation of clinical academics. This will see more research projects led by Africans instead overseas researchers.

A lead researcher at Queen Mary University of London, Prof Rupert Pearse, said there is a need across Africa for “a substantial increase in the number of surgeries to meet patients’ health needs”.

“To prevent a subsequent rise in deaths after surgery, our team of researchers will work to develop solutions specifically tailored to the needs of the various health systems, to support safe surgical care,” Pearse said.