Africa’s ‘staggering’ neuroscience needs

Brain neurons. Copyright: Leterrier, NeuroCyto Lab, INP, Marseille, France, CC BY-NC 2.0

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<h1>Africa’s ‘staggering’ neuroscience needs</h1>
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<h3>Season 2, Episode 23</h3>
<p>Coceka Mfundisi is only the third black female neurosurgeon in South Africa. More than 50 years after the first brain and spinal surgeons were trained, the field remains limited in Africa, and the continent’s <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00701-019-04207-6">unmet need</a> for neurosurgery has been described by scientists as “staggering”.</p>
<p>Mfundisi tells Africa Science Focus that patients in Africa often turn to doctors of Western medicine as a last resort — a hierarchy that she says keeps her humble. While Mfundisi says she respects traditional medicine practitioners, she also says that it’s time for Africa to make vital investments in neurosurgery and neuroscience.</p>
<p><strong><em>Africa Science Focus</em></strong><strong>, with Michael Kaloki. </strong></p>
<p><a href="https://www.scidev.net/sub-saharan-africa/role-models/qa-brain-surgery-peppered-with-moments-of-joy/"><strong>Learn more about </strong><strong>Coceka Mfundisi’s career</strong></a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.carnegie.org/"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1894676 lazyload" data-src="https://www.scidev.net/global/wp-content/uploads/Carnegie1.png" alt="Carnegie" width="426" height="200" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" style="--smush-placeholder-width: 426px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 426/200;" /><noscript><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1894676 lazyload" data-src="https://www.scidev.net/global/wp-content/uploads/Carnegie1.png" alt="Carnegie" width="426" height="200" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" style="--smush-placeholder-width: 426px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 426/200;" /><noscript><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1894676" src="https://www.scidev.net/global/wp-content/uploads/Carnegie1.png" alt="Carnegie" width="426" height="200" /></noscript></noscript></a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>This programme was funded by the <a href="https://www.carnegie.org/">Carnegie Corporation of New York</a>.</em></p>
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<p>This article was originally published on <a href="https://www.scidev.net" target="_blank">SciDev.Net</a>. Read the <a href="https://www.scidev.net/sub-saharan-africa/podcast/africas-staggering-neuroscience-needs/" target="_blank">original article</a>.</p>
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Season 2, Episode 23

Coceka Mfundisi is only the third black female neurosurgeon in South Africa. More than 50 years after the first brain and spinal surgeons were trained, the field remains limited in Africa, and the continent’s unmet need for neurosurgery has been described by scientists as “staggering”.

Mfundisi tells Africa Science Focus that patients in Africa often turn to doctors of Western medicine as a last resort — a hierarchy that she says keeps her humble. While Mfundisi says she respects traditional medicine practitioners, she also says that it’s time for Africa to make vital investments in neurosurgery and neuroscience.

Africa Science Focus, with Michael Kaloki.

Learn more about Coceka Mfundisi’s career