Webinar: The Global Surgery Deficit
July 20, 2015
Approximately 5 billion out of 7 billion people in the world have no or little access to basic surgical care. Out of the roughly 250 million operations performed each year, only 3.5% are performed on the poorest 1/3 of the world’s population. Injuries alone cause 5.7 million deaths yearly, much more than the 3.8 million deaths caused by malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis combined.
Many of these fatal injuries could have been treated by basic surgery, if it were available. Although international priorities are starting to reflect the importance of non-communicable diseases and injury, investment in essential surgical services lags far behind other healthcare priorities.
This webinar described the magnitude of the global surgical deficit and what needs to be done to address it, and shared opportunities for participants to help tackle this challenge.