Establishing IR in Emerging Countries—A Skill Development Initiative

Integrating interventional radiology (IR) into clinical practice faces challenges in emerging countries in Asia and Africa. Overcoming them requires innovative solutions customized to local needs. After an in-depth gap analysis of these challenges, we began an organized skill development initiative in late 2015 offering radiologists and their supporting staff fully paid scholarships for IR training. Its concept, structure, and progress are reported here. This initiative covered 8 countries, IR specialists (n = 51), senior residents (n = 24), and 15 educational events (training institute [n = 3]; participating countries [n = 12]). This initiative is intended to develop a global network of trained personnel who can support IR programs in challenging locations of emerging countries.