New WHO guidelines aim to prevent the surgical site infections that kill millions of people annually and curb the spread of superbugs. To counter the infections that 11% of patients in low- and middle-income countries pick up during surgery, the WHO’s "Global Guidelines…
In a public hospital in Arusha, Tanzania, physician Anna Budde witnessed an appendicitis patient writhing in pain for 6 days until the city’s lone anesthesiologist was available for surgery. Budde underscores an astonishing statistic: 5 billion people lack access to safe…
In the quest to bring safe surgery to the billions globally without access, anesthesia is a critical, yet often overlooked—and under-funded—element. Mpoki M. Ulisubisya, 1 of just 22 physician–anesthetists serving Tanzania’s 47 million people, urges the World Congress of…
The need for surgical care will surge as climate change increases the frequency and severity of natural disasters, according to a new study published in PLOS.
In many poor countries, hospitals have no guarantee of running water—yet surgeries go on. 1/3 of 430 hospitals surveyed by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health researchers did not have continuous running water, in a study of 19 low- and middle-income countries…
Each year, more than 1 million babies globally are born with a congenital heart defect—and most require corrective surgery within weeks. Because of a lack of resources and cardiac specialists, many babies in low-income countries go untreated. In Tanzania, for example, only…
Despite expanding Interest in global surgery, particularly the unmet need in low- and middle-income countries, little data exists to pinpoint the barriers to surgical care. To determine whether surgical conditions vary depending on geospatial considerations, researchers…
For women in Sierra Leone needing surgery for fistula, the lack of access to safe anesthesia is yet another hurdle. Frequent power cuts and a lack of oxygen tanks meant that most health facilities in the country can’t provide general anesthesia, ruling out procedures like…
By Dayna Kerecman Myers Imagine that your child has been injured and desperately needs surgery, but instead of getting immediate treatment, you’re hunting around the market for surgical supplies. Or driving from clinic to clinic, trying—in vain—to find someone to…
2 billion people around the world lack access to basic surgery, but not enough is known about operative care in low-resource settings—especially in Africa, which has perhaps the greatest unmet need.
