The 2015 Lancet Commission found that 5 billion people have no access to safe, affordable surgical and anesthesia care. The Commission reported that surgical disease accounts for 30% of global disease burden. Moreover, the number of deaths from neglected surgery exceeds those from tuberculosis, malaria, and HIV combined. To ensure 80% coverage of primary surgical service, the Lancet Commission concluded that an additional 143 million new surgical procedures need to be performed each year—and an additional 1.27 million surgeons, anesthesiologists, and obstetricians must be trained by 2030.
Over the past decade, there has been unprecedented enthusiasm for global surgery among medical students, residents, fellows, and faculty. New international academic global surgery associations and alliances have been created. In 2015, Dr. Paul Farmer concluded that “global surgery is one of the most exciting frontiers in the quest for global health equity.” It was this new energy that inspired the creation of the University of Minnesota Global Surgery & Disparities (UMGSD) Program in 2019.
