Welcome to the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery website!
The Lancet Commission on Global Surgery is an ongoing process to realize its vision of universal access to safe, affordable surgical and anesthesia care when needed.
The commission is chaired by Dr. John G. Meara at Harvard Medical School, Mr. Andy Leather at King’s College London, and Dr. Lars Hagander at Lund University. The commission process is led by a group of 25 commissioners, 31 Bellagio commissioners, and a team of affiliated researchers supported by collaborators from around the world. The vision and work of the commission has been endorsed and is supported by 23 surgical and anesthesia colleges from around the world.
Global Surgery 2030: evidence and solutions for achieving health, welfare and economic development
The initial findings from The Lancet Commission on Global Surgery have been published by The Lancet. The main report, along with the first set of accompanying research papers, abstracts and teaching cases are now available:
● Global Surgery 2030: evidence and solutions for achieving health, welfare, and economic development
John Meara, Andy Leather, Lars Hagander et al
The Lancet
● The Lancet Global Health: Global Surgery Special Edition
Multiple Authors
The Lancet Global Health
● The Lancet Commission on Global Surgery Abstracts
Multiple Authors
The Lancet
● The Lancet Commission on Global Surgery Teaching Cases, Volume One
Multiple Authors
The Lancet Commission on Global Surgery
● Policy Briefs for Global Surgery 2030
We have summarised the key messages, findings and recommendations of Global Surgery 2030: evidence and solutions for achieving health, welfare, and economic development in a series of 6 policy briefs, aimed at a broad audience.
– Policy Brief 1 – Report Overview
– Policy Brief 2 – Investing in Surgical & Anaesthesia Care
– Policy Brief 3 – Monitoring Surgery & Anaesthesia for Improved Health, Welfare, & Economic Development
– Policy Brief 4 – Actions and Opportunities for Low-Income & Middle-Income Countries
– Policy Brief 5 – Actions and Opportunities for the International Community
– Policy Brief 6 – Surgical Indicators & a Template for a National Surgical Plan
Additional commission publications can be found here.
Background on Global Surgery
There are currently gross disparities in access to safe, affordable, surgical care worldwide, and an alarming lack of global focus on widespread provision of quality surgical services. Five billion people around the world can not access safe, affordable surgical and anesthesia care when needed. Out of the 313 procedures performed each year, only 6% are done for the poorest 1/3 of the world’s population.
Surgical conditions represent approximately 30% of the global burden of disease. Surgical care is needed across the life course (from birth to death), across all levels of care (from prevention to palliation) and within all disease burden subcategories. Surgery has proven to be a very cost-effective intervention, and failure to treat surgical conditions threatens to significantly compromise the economic productivity of countries. Widespread integration and scale-up of surgical care around the world is necessary to reach new targets for Universal Health Coverage, the Sustainable Development Goals and creation of resilient health systems.
Purpose of The Lancet Commission on Global Surgery
1. Generate broad sustainable improvements in surgical care around the world
2. Inform and drive policy change
In order to realize the Commission’s vision of universal access to safe, affordable surgical and anesthesia care when needed