□ On 14 October 2024, KOFIH Tanzania Office (Country Representative Kyungbae Seo) published the impact of the Capacity Enhancement of Medical Equipment Technical Services (CEOMETS) program implemented in Tanzania in the Pan African Medical Journal (* 2024 SCOPUS Cite Score 1.8, Q2 journal in the general medicine category), a leading academic journal in the African region. 

(Suniva Sivero Celestin Haule et al. 2024., https://www.panafrican-med-journal.com//content/article/49/40/full)

□ While the significance of strengthening the biomedical workforce in resource-limited settings has been widely acknowledged in the context of health system strengthening, there remains a paucity of information specific to the local context. Against this backdrop, KOFIH has implemented local training program for biomedical engineers in various low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in Africa and Asia, including Tanzania, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Laos, to strengthen biomedical engineering capacity in partner countries. In particular, Tanzania has been implementing the program since 2015, which is a leading field-based Dr LEE Jong-wook Fellowship Program.

□ The CEOMETS training program implemented in Tanzania consists of a four-week intensive course for entry-level trainees with a total of 178 credit hours. Of these, approximately 76 credit hours (42.7%) are dedicated to theoretical lectures, 82 credit hours (46.1%) to practical sessions, and 20 credit hours (11.2%) to evaluation, discussion, and presentations. It is very useful in building practical skills in entry-level juniors as the lectures cover essential principles of medical equipment commonly used in Tanzanian health facilities. 

□ The study statistically analyzed (by t-test) the pre- and post-training assessment data of 121 entry-level medical equipment technicians trained over a five-year period from 2018 to 2022 based on self-efficacy indicator scores. The results revealed a highly significant increase in self-efficacy indicator scores for most beneficiaries (***p < 0.001). At the same time, the paper also identified a number of internal and external limitations to the impact of the training program. The internal limitations included a bias in the selection of trainees while the external limitations included the lack of a biomedical engineering policy in Tanzania. 

□ Despite these limitations, the strength of the CEOMETS described in the paper is that it is the only available in-service training offered in Tanzania. Former Country Representative Kyoung Kyun Oh, corresponding author of this study, said that the paper has academic value because it △evaluates biomedical engineering from the perspective of health system strengthening, △is a peer-reviewed academic article, △highlights the role of health authorities in partner countries, and △is the only article that compares and analyzes the blind spots in the biomedical engineering environment in Tanzania. In particular, the first and second authors are both officials from the Tanzanian Ministry of Health and the staff from KOFIH Tanzania Office worked together to conduct the study, so it can be seen as a representative example of KOFIH's collaborative system. 

□ The KOFIH Tanzania Office will continue to work closely with project teams in KOFIH including Dr LEE Jong-wook Memorial School, Regional Cooperation for Africa & Latin America, and Research and Strategy Development to produce knowledge in the context of health system strengthening and to become a leading ODA partner for global health in Tanzania.