ABSTRACT
The role of surgery in global health has only recently become a topic of debate within the global public health community. Of course, surgeons have always maintained that surgical interventions have impacted disability and death, especially for traumatic injuries and obstetric emergencies. But the surgical agenda has often been seen as a “luxury” or “too expensive” by the global public health community. The increase in chronic disease has demanded that these assumptions be revisited. Three of the 10 leading causes of death include cardiovascular disease, trauma, and neoplasm,1 and each of these disease categories often includes surgical intervention2 at some point in the continuum of the disease process. Therefore, governments, hospitals, policy makers, and donors must now recognize the data supporting the impact and cost-effectiveness of emergency and essential surgery.3 It is estimated that 2 billion people worldwide have no access to emergency or essential surgery.4
