Access to Care Initiative

Access to Care – Europe | Access to Care – Africa | Editorial (Aug. 2026) | Contribute | Task force members

From drainages and post-partum bleeding control to minimally invasive tumour treatments and stroke thrombectomy, interventional radiology (IR) offers countless life-saving therapies minimally invasively. At the crossroad of cutting-edge technology and holistic patient care, IR often revolutionizes therapy options and optimizes patient outcomes. Yet, access to the broad spectrum of treatments and interventions offered by this specialty remains unequal on a global scale. Training pathways for young physicians set to practice in this ever-expanding field of modern patient care are still too often unclear or dependent on regional setups.

As the world’s most inclusive and most representative interventional radiology society, CIRSE is set to make a significant contribution to advancing the availability of interventional radiology treatments and a well-trained workforce.

The launch of Access to Care, CIRSE’s global outreach programme to improve access to interventional radiology, marks a crucial step in our effort to strengthen interventional radiology worldwide, in collaboration with all our members and partners. While the programmes launched under this initiative are made possible by a private donation, close collaboration with our group member societies, partner organisations, like-minded initiatives and our corporate partners will be crucial for achieving a sustainable impact.

Two expert task forces have developed the programmes for supporting access to IR care in Europe and Africa.

Access to Care – Europe

The European focus area of Access to Care focuses on Eastern and South-Eastern Europe and seeks to launch initiatives to attract the next generation of bright minds into IR, support the uptake of advanced treatment options in the region, and enhance awareness of IR among patients and referrers.

 ESIR x Access to Care

15 kickstart grants were made available for young IRs from Eastern and South-Eastern Europe to attend the European School of Interventional Radiology (ESIR) course on acute limb ischaemia in Maribor, Slovenia through the Gehrig-Pereira Grant in 2026.

Summer and Winter Schools

Starting in January 2027, CIRSE will organize summer and winter schools for medical students and radiology trainees, providing first exposure and training in this exciting medical field. More information will be available shortly.

Pioneering grants

To allow practicing interventional radiologists to learn new treatments that are currently unavailable in their region, or improve their technical skills in a specific indication, pioneering grants will shortly be launched. Successful applicants will have the opportunity to train for a week in a European recommended training centre and return with new skills and an enhanced network.

Mapping the status quo and enhancing awareness

Further projects will aim to map available IR services in the region and provide informational videos for patients and referrers, enhancing awareness for IR treatment options.

Access to Care – Africa

The African focus area of Access to Care aims to increase the availability of basic and advanced IR therapies in Sub-Saharan Africa through the establishment of regional training hubs in selected countries. The hubs will offer curriculum-based training programmes for interventional radiologists and support the development of local expertise. The initiative is designed to build long-term institutional partnerships that strengthen regional expertise and encourage the continued growth of IR services within local healthcare systems. The programme will be launched in 2026 and CIRSE will support the initiative through international visiting faculty, educational resources, and scholarships for trainees from neighbouring countries.

Academic training hubs

In its first phase, Access to Care – Africa aims to establish four academic training hubs in four public teaching hospitals in Cameroon, Senegal, South Africa, and Tanzania. These centres will serve as regional reference institutions for IR education and training. CIRSE will support the selected hubs in the development and implementation of an IR curriculum, fostering high-quality IR training for future interventional radiologists in the region.

Scholarships for IR trainees from the region

To encourage regional participation and create an impact beyond the target countries, CIRSE aims to award at least two scholarships per training hub to fellows from neighbouring countries. These scholarships will support trainees throughout their two-year educational journey and facilitate access to high-quality IR training, online resources, and the EBIR certification. Fellows will be selected on a merit basis by the Access to Care – Africa Task Force from among the admitted candidates to the training hub. A key objective of the scholarship programme is to support the development of sustainable local IR expertise across the region. Following their training, fellows are encouraged to return to their home country and contribute to the further development of IR services and education within their healthcare systems.

International visiting faculty

CIRSE will support international visiting faculty to provide hands-on expertise, mentorship, and advanced teaching at the training hubs. Through on-site teaching trips, visiting specialists will contribute to strengthening local IR capacities. A call for faculty members will be launched later this year. Stay tuned!

Building sustainable access to IR care

Beyond education and training, the programme seeks to strengthen regional IR networks and support the integration of IR into healthcare systems across Sub-Saharan Africa. By empowering local specialists and fostering international collaboration, CIRSE aims to contribute to more equitable access to minimally invasive, life-saving therapies for patients throughout the region.

Editorial

In August 2026, an editorial about the launch of the initiative was published in CVIR. Read the full editorial here.

How to contribute

CIRSE looks forward to collaborating with partners on this programme and encourages interested members, societies, and corporate partners to get in touch. Contributions can be as individual as the countries and people we want to support. Just contact us at [email protected]!

The Access to Care Initiative is kindly supported by the Gehrig-Pereira grant.

Task force members

Africa Task Force

Europe Task Force