Address by the President to 65th Annual General Meeting of the WACS at Centre International de Conference de Bamako (CIDB), Mali, on 19 February 2025.

Abstract

Notwithstanding the challenges experienced in holding the 65th Conference of WACS in Bamako, Mali, we must express our gratitude to the LOC of Bamako 2025 for the wonderful work they did in organizing a peaceful and well conducted conference. The incapacitation of the WACS President-elect created a constitutional challenge in Bamako which the Council and AGM must resolve to have a president to lead the College after the conference. The 32nd EXCO of the College accomplished a lot of milestones within the two years of its existence. Clinical examination was extended to Enugu, a new examination centre was opened in Cameroun, fledging young examination centres in Banjul, Freetown and Liberia were sustained. College sources of funding were reengineered with increased contributions from non-examination sources while maintaining exam contribution. Examinations returned to profitability and overall, College finances were tremendously increased. The construction of WACS skills and simulation centre in Abuja and the Accra office of the College were initiated during this period. Renovation of real estate properties in Morris Street Lagos guaranteed increased inflow of funds. BOT membership in Ghana and Nigeria were formalized. College-wide training-of-trainers and curriculum review with emphasis on competency acquisition and assessment were implemented. Subspecialisation commenced fully in all the faculties as well as post fellowship training in Surgical Oncology. A renewed emphasis was placed on skills training with different curricular designed for basic laparoscopic, mid level and advanced level skills and simulation programs. In collaborations with Universities, in-residency PhD degree training was started. College research capacity was greatly increased with registration on Gov.org and grants applications to facilitate training in surgical sciences. It was indeed a two-year of intense activity and I express my gratitude to all the fellows who made all the achievement possible.