BUJUMBURA September 21st (ABP) – The doctoral school of the University of Burundi is preparing to launch the forensic medicine training program. It will be materialized by the establishment of a violence medicine unit by October 2023, that was revealed on Monday, September 19, 2022, from the director of the doctoral school of the University of Burundi, Professor Juma Shabani.
According to Professor Juma, the training program comes in application of the law of September 22, 2016 on the prevention, protection of victims and repression of gender-based violence in Burundi. That law is inspired by the objective of sustainable development 16.
He added that this training program, which is part of the services that the doctoral school of the University of Burundi offers to communities, aims to find solutions to several types of interpersonal violence that are committed in Burundi.
Mr. Juma specified in particular sexual violence, intra-family violence, domestic violence, violence against children, child and child abuse, abuse of the elderly and accidents (work, leisure, transport).
He also reported that the doctoral school of the University of Burundi will carry out this project in partnership with the University of Geneva and Lausanne and their university hospitals and the police academy of Savatan.
At the national level, he underlined, that training project will be carried out in partnership with several structures, namely the University of Burundi, the ministries in charge of public health, justice and public security, the Commission National Independent Human Rights Commission, Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Bujumbura and Gitega Bar, Police Hospital and Kamenge University Hospital.
As for the training program, he indicated that it will focus on building the capacities of the various national partners, mobilizing resources to provide them with equipment and training at the level of the diploma of specialized studies (DES) in forensic medicine.
Note for all intents and purposes that Burundi currently has no trained forensic pathologist.
Professor Juma also pointed out that forensic medicine is very underdeveloped in Africa, especially in French-speaking Africa. By way of example, he said, only one doctor in the Central African Republic for 4.5 million inhabitants, two in Benin and Togo for respectively 7.5 million inhabitants and 11.5 million inhabitants and 50 forensic doctors trained in Senegal for 17 million inhabitants.