News - Report from Durban

The First African-Middle Eastern Congress on Digestive Oncology

Report from Durban

Forget the visa, foreign exchange, lost luggage and all that makes traveling from a country near Antarctica to elsewhere in the world a groaning experience. After all that effort we arrive at the exotic foreign destination to spend a few days immersing ourselves from dawn to dusk in the very subject we drown in everyday. We see little of the exotic land before repeating the groaning experience. The final irritation for Durbanites is the transfer from Johannesburg to Durban. Is there no way out or must we always suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous travel to acquire the best of the best in gastroenterology?

The first African-Middle Eastern Congress on Digestive Oncology was held in Rabat and linked via videoconferencing to 3 South African gastroenterology departments (Durban, Johannesburg and Cape Town). This was a postgraduate course and symposium organized by IDCA/WGO, EAGE-IWGCO and the WGO Rabat training centre in collaboration with the African Middle East Association of Gastroenterology (AMAGE) and the South African Gastroenterology Society (SAGES). It was held on the first and second of February 2008.

These are our early steps into a new dimension of communication that we hope will bring the gastroenterology world into Africa and vice versa. The technology is there to be used, and compared to the videoconference in 2007 it has substantially improved. The picture and sound quality was adequate. The presentations were relevant and of a high standard with a good mix of fascinating basic science and practical clinical issues. Unfortunately some of the discussion was lost as we could not hear the audience questions from the roving microphone.

I suppose it's better to know the answer rather than the question! Professor Tytgat was introduced to younger members of the Durban audience who immediately found him to be a most engaging chairman and speaker. The case presentations from the 3 local centres were excellent and diverse providing a platform for insightful discussion. I have no doubt that this aspect was enjoyed by all 3 local centres as we were contributing to the event while gaining valuable commentary from the experts. Our two local colo-rectal surgeons Prof. Goldberg and Prof. Madiba who were in Rabat were eloquent and well received in their respective presentations on colo-rectal cancer. Overall the long breaks provided us with an opportunity to debate and clarify some of the issues raised amongst ourselves while filling up on the ample refreshments kindly sponsored by TecMed. A most relaxed atmosphere. The one major disappointment was the poor attendance in Durban. Considering the multi-disciplinary nature of the subject we expected a far better turnout. This issue needs to be addressed.

African gastroenterology needs innovative initiatives such as this to educate and inspire. Tuberculosis, HIV-AIDS and malaria dominate African medicine and correctly so. However, we cannot neglect the burden of gastrointestinal malignancies and liver disease. It was pleasing that a viral hepatitis document was introduced to the audience for discussion.

Above all this videoconference has shown us that it can be done in Africa with great success. We don't have to go to the mountain all the time.

Finally a big thanks to the unseen technical staff who make these things happen as well as Prof. KA Newton and Prof. SR Thomson who constantly attend to the flame of academic gastroenterology in Durban.

VG Naidoo

Durban



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