More people in Sub-Saharan African need surgery today than there are people living with HIV\/AIDS. It is estimated that 56 million people in sub-Saharan Africa need surgery ranging from cesarean sections to cataract surgery.<\/p>\n
A recent article by Sarika Bansal for the New York Times looks at the issue of access to surgery and at some of the new developments that hope to address the gap.<\/p>\n
“With high-quality surgery available in the world\u2019s developed countries (for those who can afford the coverage or the price tag), it is easy to forget how crucial that option can be for a patient. \u201cWith surgery, people can survive who otherwise would not have,\u201d said Mzaza Nthele, a general surgeon in Livingstone General Hospital. \u201cJust imagine how many lives are lost if we can\u2019t do C-sections.\u201d The World Health Organization estimates that surgery can treat 11 percent of the global disease burden.<\/p>\n
“Yet across the developing world, surgical care often does not reach those who need it. Surgical facilities are sometimes prohibitively far or expensive to reach, which can be fatal in emergency cases. \u201cIt\u2019s not obvious until you visit the hospital in person,\u201d said Kendra Bowman, a researcher and surgery resident at Brigham & Women\u2019s Hospital. \u201cThe Western province [of Zambia] is under water for seven months of the year \u2014 there\u2019s no running water, no electricity, no phones, they\u2019re cut off from the world. There\u2019s no way they\u2019re going to go to [capital city] Lusaka to get a laparotomy. It\u2019s a death sentence to refer those patients.\u201d <\/p>\n
“Unfortunately, smaller health facilities often have no choice but to refer patients to larger cities. Surgical equipment is sometimes nonexistent, especially in remote areas, and supplies are a challenge to maintain. More critical, though, is the human resource gap. Zambia has only 44 fully licensed surgeons to serve its population of 13 million, who are spread over an area slightly larger than Texas.” Fluffy eyelashes as if from a doll using bimatoprost medication buy Lumigan<\/a> right now and solve the problem in one fell swoop!<\/p>\n