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Background Ethiopia is a rapidly developing country in Eastern Africa. 43.2% of the population is younger than 15. In contrast, until a few years ago, pediatric surgery was only available in Addis Ababa. Now, Ethiopia is making great efforts to improve the care of surgical ill children. JimmaChild was established to set up a pediatric surgery in Jimma. Methods JimmaChild developed from a scientific collaboration between Jimma University (JU) and Ludwig-Maximilians-University. The project was developed and realized by Ethiopian and German colleagues. A curriculum was written for this purpose. The pediatric surgical training of the fellows was carried out on-site by German pediatric surgeons. Results A new pediatric surgery was established at JU with its own operating room, ward, and staff. After two and a half years, two fellows completed their final examinations as pediatric surgeons. Among others, 850 elective surgeries were performed, 82% assisted by the German colleagues. The German colleagues rated the preparation for the trip, the on-site support, and the professional progress of the fellows mostly as good to very good. Reported problems in the program flow were also recognized and solved in part. Conclusions Best possible integration of the project into existing structures was achieved by close cooperation of Ethiopian and German colleagues during the project development. Problems were identified and addressed early on by external monitoring. As the project responsibility was mainly with the Ethiopian colleagues, a department was created that now exists independent of external funding and trains its own fellows.

Introduction: Hypocalcemia is a derangement in serum calcium level due to a vast spectrum of disorders, but the most common cause is surgery, usually thyroid gland surgery. Symptoms of Hypocalcemia can be due to increased neuromuscular excitation resulting in tetany, paresthesia or seizure. It can also be because of deposition of calcium in soft tissues producing reduced vision /cataract or calcification of basal ganglia. Cataract is the most common ocular symptom of hypocalcemia. Case report: A twenty six years old Ethiopian female patient presented with painless reduction of vision of both eyes 5 years after she was diagnosed to have hypocalcemia with very low serum calcium level (3mg/dl) due to damage to the parathyroid gland during total thyroidectomy for toxic goiter and has been on supplemental calcium gluconate twice daily. She had typical bilateral symmetrical posterior sub capsular cataract with punctate iridescent opacities in the anterior and posterior cortex of the lens. Systemic examination revealed horizontal surgical scar on the anterior neck and Positive Chvostek sign. Conclusion:The work up of bilateral symmetrical cataract in young patients should include serum electrolyte levels, particularly calcium, in those who had history of thyroid surgery. Key words: Hypocalcemia, bilateral cataract, total thyroidectomy, hypoparathyroidism, tetany, serum calcium and Ethiopia.