(ICC-U). With the help of the Canadian Journal of Surgery, the CNIS provides editorial support to the Association of Surgeons of East and Central Africa Journal of Surgery. Public Engagement The CNIS has acted across Canada through its Public Engagement Program, which publicizes the need for access to safe surgical and obstetrical care in Africa. It has recruited Canadian surgical professionals to take part in international surgery projects. Activities have included workshops and seminars, language training, newsletters and cultural events. Collaborating Countries So far, the CNIS appears to have concentrated its international outreach within the continent of Africa. They have implemented surgical skills training courses in Addis Ababa, Jimma, Gondor, Mekele, and Hawassa in Ethiopia; Blantyre and Lilongwe in Malawi; Bamako, Mali; Maputo in Mozambique; Butare in Rwanda; Dar es Salaam and Moshi in Tanzania; and Mbarara and Gulu in Uganda. The CNIS has begun obstetrical skills training programs in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Kampala, Uganda. They initiated injury control center work in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Kampala, Uganda. Program Support Unit (PSU) This is the first office of CNIS in Africa. The Program Support Unit (PSU) is located in the Black Lion Hospital at Addis Ababa University Surgical Skills Lab, Ethiopia and it supports CNIS activities in Africa. Surgical and Obstetrical Skills Training Project in Ethiopia In 2005, the CNIS launched a new innovation project to establish surgical learning centers at six universities in Ethiopia. The universities in this project will have learning centers that are dedicated for surgical and obstetrical care at the end of the project. The project also will have an institutional capacity-building component where surgical department staff will attend workshops in management, leadership and fund raising skills. The project builds on results of previous efforts, which are intended to promote long-term capacity-building in obstetrical and surgical operations and care. The learning centers will train and certify primary care physicians, surgeons, instructors, and other health professionals as well as build up the universities' own institutional capacity (fund-raising, creating linkages are examples of the needs addressed). It is intended that they will provide growing support for hospitals, health centers, and clinics across Ethiopia to address the critical health needs of the population. Funding for this innovation project was procured mainly through two agencies. The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) granted $200,000 for the project, while the Toronto Chapter of the Ethiopian North American Health Professionals Association