Global Surgery: Could systems thinking be the key to success?

Surgery and anaesthesia care is progressively making its way into the Global Public Health arena, which was d omi na ted by ma ter nal an d c hild h e al th an d communicable diseases in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). Global Surgery (GS) could potentially make an impact on survival and quality of life in all age groups for a variety of disease conditions. After success in highlighting knowledge, policy and advocacy gaps, Global Surgery is transitioning from problem identification to designing and implementing solutions. A shared vision will lay out priorities to achieve the common goal of providing safe and affordable surgical and anaesthesia care in under-developed and developing countries. A systematic thinking approach could amplify the impact of such efforts by highlighting the bigger picture, enabling Global Surgery leaders in such countries to build multidisciplinary coalitions and utilise crosslevel interactions between Global Surgery and other initiatives.