Curriculum Development: ACEPHAP in collaboration with West African College of Surgeon and Boston Children’s Hospital trained Senior Faculty Officers on Foundations of Simulations

In a bid to encourage the practical learning of skills and competencies in maternal health, the Africa Centre for Excellence in Population Health and Policy (ACEPHAP) has collaborated with the West African College of Surgeons (WACS) to host Boston Children’s Hospital for the second time, following their inaugural visit in 2024. The sessions facilitated by Rhaine Sziy, Michelle Niescierenko and Matthew Taylor started from November 3rd and ended on November 7th, 2025.

Welcoming the team, Prof. Hadiza Shehu Galadanci, the center’s director, said the simulation trainings, which started in 2024, have transformed skills and developed competencies of trainers, especially.

Prof. Galadanci stated that the number of medical students that Nigeria produces has tremendously increased over the years and the need for improved quality of training, hence the need for simulation-based pedagogies has also increased. She said the country is set to establish 8 simulation centres nationwide for better training of medical professionals.

In the past year, the establishment of a simulation center by ACEPHAP alongside Boston Children’s Hospital has trained over 30 faculty from the departments of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Nursing and Paediatrics with mannequins on fetal-maternal specialty. It has upskilled resident doctors and medical students to perform better at their respective workplaces.

The teams navigated through the rudiments of listing competencies, debriefing, scenario playing, running and accessing scenarios as well as other important aspects of simulations. Necessities of the curriculum were then drafted, which will be incorporated into the training guide of the Fetomaternal Fellowship of West African College of Surgeons (WASC).

The team appreciated the support provided by ACEPHAP and the participants over the past year and the five-day simulation sessions. They acknowledged that the center has done so much in terms of simulations and has served as the first of its kind in the country. They then encouraged the participants to replicate the training they had received in the best possible way so as to enhance the health outcomes in the country.

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