Greetings!

After six months of writing, editing, and peer review, we are pleased to announce that the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery has been accepted for publication on April 27, 2015! Coinciding with the publication of the main report, there will be a body of supporting papers published in The Lancet, The Lancet Global Health, Surgery, World Journal of Surgery, and British Journal of Surgery. In addition, a dozen global surgery teaching cases highlighting a variety of global surgery topics will be published in collaboration with the following institutions: Babson Business School, The Global Health Delivery Project at Harvard Medical School, Harvard Business School, University of Virginia Darden School of Business, Melbourne Business School, and the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore.

With the report accepted for publication, we have turned our attention to planning for implementation and launch events, as well as our ongoing advocacy campaign to realize universal access to safe, affordable, surgical and anesthesia care when needed.

Third Commission Meeting – Dubai, UAE

On November 11-13, 2014, the third commission meeting was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Academic Medical Center in Dubai Healthcare City. The first half of the meeting was dedicated to addressing reviewer comments on the main report, as well as to initiating discussions regarding implementation and longterm goals. The second half of the meeting was focused on discussing the Commission’s findings and global surgery from the perspective of local meeting participants, including those from Iran, Pakistan, and the United Arab Emirates.

Lancet Commissioners with Richard Horton and Justine Davies from The Lancet, in Dubai 

First Implementation Meeting – Bellagio, Italy

On February 10-12, 2015, The Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center hosted the Commission’s first implementation meeting in Bellagio, Italy to discuss the implementation of the Commission’s recommendations. Thirty-one attendees with extensive and varied backgrounds in generating change in healthcare gathered to discuss how to support improvements in global surgical and anesthetic care delivery at local, national, and international levels.

Among the participants were individuals from The World Bank, World Health Organization, USAID, BRAC, THET, PROESA, WFSA, multiple colleges of surgery including WACS, COSECSA and PAAS, the US National Cancer Institute, Disease Control Priorities, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, the Global Alliance for Surgery, Obstetrics, Trauma & Anesthesia, various African, South American, Asian, and European Ministries of Health or Health Authorities, and various clinical and academic institutions. Outputs from this meeting will be available soon on our website.

Bellagio Meeting Participants at The Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center

Commission Launches

London Launch

The Lancet Commission on Global Surgery report findings and next steps will be discussed in an engaging series of launch meetings around the world throughout 2015.

Our Inaugural Launch will be on April 27, 2015 in London at the Royal Society of Medicine, coinciding with the publication of the Commission report. Registration for this event is now open and can be done here. On April 28, 2015, the Royal Society of Medicine is hosting a follow-up conference: Global Surgery, Anaesthesia, and Obstetrics: Shifting Paradigms and Challenging Generations. There will be numerous abstracts presented highlighting global surgery work in addition to a series of presentations and panel discussions. More information and registration for this event can be found here.

Boston Launch

The London launch will be followed by the Boston Launch which will be held atHarvard Medical School on May 6 and 7, 2015. More details on the Boston launch and registration will follow shortly.

Disease Control Priorities 3rd Edition

Congratulations to Disease Control Priorities 3^rd edition (DCP-3) for the publicationof their key messages on essential surgery in the Lancet! In this paper, DCP3 delineates why and how essential surgical care can be an early and feasible element of universal health care to help save lives, provide financial risk protection, and contribute to stronger health systems. The full volume on surgery is forthcoming and the official launch will be held on March 26^th at the Consortium of Universities for Global Health Conference.

Congratulations to Lancet Global Surgery Commissioner Dr. Edgar Rodas on his honorary induction to The American College of Surgeons in October 2014! 

Our thoughts continue to be with all of the patients and providers battling Ebola in West Africa.