Experts Develop Roadmap to Promote Essential Surgery at the District Level

October 1, 2007

Experts Develop Roadmap to Promote Essential Surgery at the District Level

In June 2007, international experts in surgery, anesthesia, health policy, epidemiology and health economics examined the necessary steps to increase access to surgical services in rural sub-Saharan Africa.

Hosted by the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Conference Center, health leaders from Eritrea, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Southern Sudan, Sweden, Tanzania, Uganda, USA, and the World Health Organization gathered for the Conference on Increasing Access to Surgical Services in Resource-Constrained Settings in Sub-Saharan Africa.

This conference was inspired by the publication of the second edition of Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries (DCP2) which suggested that, contrary to prevailing opinion, surgical services can be provided cost-effectively in district hospitals in developing countries. The publication of DCP2, combined with the establishment of the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Initiative for Emergency and Essential Surgical Care, highlights that surgical services, hitherto neglected, have an important role to play as preventive and life-saving strategies in public health.

Conference participants discussed the critical need for essential surgical services at district level hospitals, reviewed the evidence related to cost-effective interventions, and assessed the challenges to implementation including current policies, health systems, and human resources. Recognizing the need for an informal body to lobby for essential surgery, participants organized themselves as the Bellagio Essential Surgery Group and agreed on a program of follow-up action in the form of a roadmap that includes:

• advocacy and dissemination
• demonstration projects
• evidence building

Participants committed to work individually and institutionally to raise funds and to promote and implement projects to increase access to surgery for under-served communities.

To learn more about the roadmap and the meeting, please click here to see the full report.

Related Disease/Condition:
Emergency Care
Maternal & Neonatal Conditions
Maternal Conditions
Surgery