GPAS Funding
Global Partners in Anesthesia and Surgery (GPAS) is a collaboration of faculty and trainees in the Departments of Surgery and Anesthesia, and the Schools of Medicine and Nursing at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda as well as several other institutions around the world.
GPAS is currently funded by grants and donations from individuals and independent organizations. Donations made to GPAS are tax exempt by way of our partnership with the UCSF Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit organization.
GPAS is actively seeking funding to pursue numerous projects in our core, focus areas, including:
Workforce Expansion and Training
Currently in Uganda there are approximately 75 specialist surgeons and 10 physician anesthesiologists for a population of 30 million people. The training positions in the post-graduate programs are unfilled yearly due to difficulty recruiting and funding trainees. We hope to double this number by sponsoring Ugandan physicians wishing to pursue post-graduate studies in anesthesia and surgery. We also are actively lobbying the local health ministry to increase funding for these trainees. The annual cost of training for one surgeon or anesthesiologist in this program is approximately $2,500 U.S.
Sustainable Approaches to Infrastructure Improvement
In Uganda as in many low-income countries, no prehospital trauma system exists. Many patients arrive at the hospital too late for care, or often do not arrive at all. Evidence from other countries in the region suggests that only one-third of injured patients reach a health facility. Using training programs endorsed by the World Health Organization and adapted to a resource-constrained environment, GPAS has begun to conduct training courses for lay first responders such as police officers, public service vehicle drivers, and members of local government to improve the care of injured citizens. Through follow-up evaluation of this program we hope to achieve a measurable positive impact in Uganda and a program that can be implemented in other low-income countries.
Clinical Research and Collaboration
At the present time the dearth of surgical and perioperative research in low-income countries is a significant factor contributing to the inadequate provision of these services. GPAS currently has several on-going research collaborations in Uganda which aim to expand this body of knowledge. Our projects focus on the identifying the main causes of surgical and perioperative morbidity and mortality in a low-income environment, and then designing, introducing, and evaluating specific, practical, and potentially life-saving interventions to address these areas. GPAS faculty from UCSF and Makerere University actively mentor residents from both universities to help with research grant applications. As a result of this mentoring program, one competitive research grant has already been awarded to a trainee a Mulago and several more have been submitted.
To find out more information on the progress of our projects, please go to the GPAS Blog or visit our Projects Page.
To inquire about funding opportunities, click here or email donations@globalpas.org
GPAS Vision
To improve surgical and perioperative services in low-income countries and to reduce global disparities in surgical care.
GPAS Mission
To create mutually beneficial collaborations with healthcare providers in low-income countries that facilitate sustainable strategies for improving workforce, infrastructure, and the provision of essential surgical and perioperative services.
