ZACOMS Honours EQUALS Initiative Partnership

On 13 June 2024, the Zambia College of Medicine and Surgery (ZACOMS) held their 4th graduation ceremony, at which 79 specialists were conferred. This takes the total number of graduates since the college was formed in 2017 to 281.

The college was formed in response to a critical shortage of specialists in Zambia and the ensuing contribution to increasing health inequalities that this has had. ZACOMS aims to bridge this gap by advancing professional training of medical specialists.

The EQUALS Initiative, a joint partnership between the Health Service Executive (HSE) and the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI), has worked with the Zambian Ministry of Health since 2013 and has provided support to ZACOMS since inception. As part of the graduation ceremony, ZACOMS honoured the contribution of the continued partnership with the EQUALS Initiative by awarding Prof Frank Murray and Prof Diarmuid O'Donovan with ZACOMS Lifetime Fellowship awards. Both Prof Murray and Prof O’Donovan have worked extensively to support the development and growth of ZACOMS, including undertaking several visits to Zambia for key meetings and workshops. As they were unable to attend in person on this occasion, the awards were accepted on their behalf by Mr Samuel Dowzard, Second Secretary of the Irish Embassy in Zambia and Donna Wrightson, RCPI. 

ZACOMS continues to go from strength to strength and recently completed work on a five-year strategy development plan. The EQUALS Initiative plans to continue to work together with key stakeholders in Zambia to support delivery of the key aims of this plan. 

If you are interested in getting involved with EQUALS and would like to find out more then please contact Donna Wrightson at equals@rcpi.ie.