SYNOPSIS
Surgical care has long been viewed by donors as too costly and complex for low-resource health systems, apart from narrowly focused programs such as surgical contraception. The Lancet Commission on Global Surgery is an extensive review of the need for surgical care in low-resource health systems, the cost-effectiveness of these services, and the Commission’s framework for surgery that is safe, affordable, and timely. The review found that 5 billion people currently lack access to care for surgical conditions, and the Commission identified a range of neglected procedures that are cost-effective and feasible. As summarized by World Bank President, Jim Kim, “Surgery is an indivisible, indispensable part of health care.” Professor John Meara, Co-chair of the Commission and Kletjian Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School will summarize recent developments in global health that reinforce the commission’s findings, and will discuss initiatives to improve surgical care in low-resource health systems.
SPEAKER
John G. Meara, MD, DMD, MBA is the Kletjian Professor of Global Surgery in the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School, Director of the Program in Global Surgery and Social Change at Harvard Medical School, Plastic Surgeon-in-Chief at Boston Children’s Hospital, and Chair for the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery. He is also the Vice-Chair of the Health Policy Advisory Group for the American College of Surgeons. Since 2008, he has Co-Directed the Paul Farmer Global Surgery Fellowship program in collaboration with Partners In Health. Dr. Meara’s interests are in the areas of craniofacial anomalies and cleft lip and palate, with a particular interest in augmenting the delivery of quality surgical care in low-resource settings.