Pediatric radiology crossing continents

Abstract

This paper will discuss, from a subjective perspective, aspects of paediatric radiology in different parts of the world. A small survey was conducted to improve our understanding of radiologic care and to explore the current status of paediatric radiology worldwide. As part of this survey, the number of paediatric radiologists and radiologists was compared to the population and to the number of children in 34 countries. The number of paediatric radiologists varied between 0 and 50 per million children. In general, the proportion of paediatric radiologists compared to radiologists is poor, even in countries with an aging population. Unfortunately, developing countries are severely underserved in terms of radiology, while paediatric radiology is almost nonexistent. The author, based on her experiences as a volunteer paediatric radiologist in Malawi, India, Cambodia and Tanzania, highlights some of the difficulties in radiologic care in developing countries. The author's personal experiences and the survey both suggest that the need for paediatric radiology is high across the world, but the supply is not sufficient, especially in developing countries, when compared to developed countries.