LAUSR

Based on the effect of essential surgical procedures, as evidenced in the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery and the World Health Assembly resolution on Strengthening Emergency and Essential Surgical Care and Anaesthesia as a Component of Universal Health Coverage, surgery is now recognized as an essential component of global public health. The third edition of Disease Control Priorities (DCP3) has a specific volume devoted to essential surgery and argues that a large proportion of the burden of disease can be ameliorated through surgery, that the provision of essential surgery is cost effective, can be expanded safely and effectively, and disparities in the delivery of safe surgical care need to be addressed. High-quality surgery is affordable and feasible in low resource settings. Though the global number and distribution of specialist surgical providers remains inaccurately measured, there is agreement that there is an insufficient surgical workforce worldwide, so the task being addressed in many lower and middle income countries (LMICs) is how to develop health professionals with the necessary surgical skills. In many regions, local training programmes, supplemented by international organizations, are making significant inroads into addressing the surgical skills gap. The vast majority of internationally led surgical training initiatives in LMICs have focused on clinical skills teaching. Some focus on particular specialties (such as 2nd Chance [http://2nd-chance.org/?lang=en] and IVUMed [http://www.ivumed.org]), others on particular procedures or specific skills (such as Operation Smile