Is Global Pediatric Surgery a Good Investment?

Abstract

Investing in surgery has been highlighted as integral to strengthening overall health systems and increasing economic prosperity in low‐income and middle‐income countries (LMICs). The provision of surgical care in LMICs not only affects economies on a macro‐level, but also impacts individual families within communities at a microeconomic level. Given that children represent 50% of the population in LMICs and the burden of unmet surgical needs in these areas is high, investing pediatric‐specific components of surgical and anesthesia care is needed. Implementation efforts for pediatric surgical care include incorporating surgery‐specific priorities into the global child health initiatives, improving global health financing for scale‐up activities for children, increasing financial risk protection mechanisms for families of children with surgical needs, and including comprehensive pediatric surgical models of care into country‐level plans.

The contribution of pediatric surgery to poverty trajectories in Somaliland

“…Many areas of surgical care are highly cost-effective, with similar values to traditional public health programs. [1–4] The World Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank, and the United Nations have all noted that access to adequate surgical care is essential to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly towards poverty reduction. [5–7] Surgery is essential to both health-system strengthening and universal health coverage, as a functional health system cannot be realized without surgical access.…”

Top 10 Resources in Global Surgery

“… 2 Surgery has been shown to be highly cost-effective when compared with standard global health interventions. 3 – 5 …”

“…2 Surgery has been shown to be highly cost-effective when compared with standard global health interventions. [3][4][5] The transition from the Millennium Development Goals to the Sustainable Development Goals has ushered in a new era for the global surgery community. Sustainable Development Goal 3, to "ensure healthy lives and promote well-being at all ages," emphasizes health system strengthening and universal health coverage.…”

“…6 The provision of available, accessible, safe, timely, and affordable surgical and anesthesia care is identified as an integral component of a functional health system in countries at all levels of economic development and as essential to achieving universal health coverage. 2,3,7 In addition, the importance of increasing education, safety, and capacity for the provision of surgical, anesthetic, and obstetric care is highlighted by several global health and development agencies and policy makers, including the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO). [8][9][10][11] As a result, the emerging field of global surgery has increased in priority among health practitioners, including nonphysician surgeons and anesthetists, researchers, and students.…”

Methods for estimating economic benefits of surgical interventions in low-income and middle-income countries: a scoping review

“…9 However, the scale up of global health investments to support these interventions remains limited. 1 Studies have measured the economic impact of surgical interventions in LMICs. However, the studies were constrained by scarce and limited data, limitations in disability weights, and significant gaps in research methods.…”