The Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiological Society of Europe (CIRSE) has launched its Access to Care Initiative, a program aimed at improving access to interventional radiology (IR) treatments and training across Sub-Saharan Africa and Eastern and Southeastern Europe, funded through the Gehrig-Pereira Grant.
For Sub-Saharan Africa, the program will establish local IR training hubs at four public academic teaching hospitals, with CIRSE supporting visiting faculty and scholarships, according to the society. For Eastern and Southeastern Europe, planned activities include kickstart grants for attendance at European School of Interventional Radiology (ESIR) courses, dedicated summer and winter schools for medical students and radiology trainees, fellowship grants at expert centers, and public awareness initiatives about minimally invasive treatments.
The program frameworks were developed by two dedicated expert task forces following gap analysis workshops held at the CIRSE office in Vienna in 2025. CIRSE said it is also engaging with industry partners to expand the program's reach beyond its initial scope.
