The 2025 Accra Declaration on Upskilling and Cost- Effective Cardiac Surgery in Africa

Abstract

The Pan-African Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery (PASCaTS) organized the 1st Pan-African Cardiothoracic Surgery Summit on 21 to 24 February 2025 in Accra, Ghana. The summit brought together leading specialists from across Africa, China, Europe, South America and the USA to address the growing burden of cardiovascular disease, to share their vision for the fight against cardiovascular disease, to raise standards in the diagnosis, treatment and recovery of patients thereby improving procedural safety and clinical outcomes in Africa. The experts agreed on the need for cost effectiveness in cardiac surgery, simulation skills training, an African regional cardiothoracic surgery database, African heart team fellowship programs and specialized working groups to guide cardiovascular diagnostics and treatments focusing on critical areas such as congenital heart surgery, valve surgery and coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) procedures which are becoming increasingly necessary in Africa due to the rise in cardiovascular emergencies, and finally explore solutions tailored to the continent's unique healthcare challenges. The incentives generated from the summit are formulated as the "2025 Accra Declaration" to serve as roadmaps and implementable guidelines for promoting high-level cardiovascular surgery and reforms in Africa in collaboration with cardiologists and other allied cardiovascular professionals.