- 5 billion people lack access to safe, affordable surgical and anesthesia care when needed.
An estimation of the global volume of surgery
- An estimated 16.9 million lives were lost in 2010 from conditions requiring surgical care.
- About 5.8 million people die each year as a result of injuries. This accounts for 10% of the world’s deaths, 32% more than the number of fatalities that result from malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS combined.
- Nearly 1/3 of the 5.8 million deaths from injuries are the result of violence.
- Nearly ¼ of injury deaths are the result of road traffic incidents.
- Injury continues to rise in the rankings as a leading cause of death. Road traffic injuries are predicted to become the 5th leading cause of death by 2030.
- 143 million additional surgical procedures are needed each year to save lives and prevent disability.
- 33 million individuals face catastrophic health expenditure due to payment for surgery and anesthesia each year.
- Provision of essential surgical procedures would avert about 1.5 million deaths a year, or 6-7% of all avertable deaths in low- and middle-income countries.
- Investment in essential surgical procedures is highly cost-effective.
- Measures to expand access to surgery, such as task sharing, have been shown to be safe and effective while countries make long-term investments in building surgical and anesthesia workforces.
- Substantial disparities exist in the safety of surgical care, driven by high perioperative mortality rates including anesthesia-related deaths in low- and middle-income countries.
References & Image Sources
Essential Surgery | DCP3. (n.d.). Retrieved March 6, 2015, from http://www.dcp-3.org/volume/1/essential-surgery
Mathers, C., Fat, D. M., Boerma, J. T., & World Health Organization (Eds.). (2008). The global burden of disease: 2004 update. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.
Meara, J. G., Leather, A. J. M., Hagander, L., Alkire, B. C., Alonso, N., Ameh, E. A., … Yip, W. (2015). Global Surgery 2030: evidence and solutions for achieving health, welfare, and economic development. The Lancet. http://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(15)60160-X
WHO | Injuries and violence: the facts. (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2015, from http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/key_facts/en/