PD 20 - UHC: A Commitment to Essential Surgical, Obstetric and Anesthesia Care

Although increasingly recognized as an indivisible, indispensable part of Universal Health Coverage, limited progress has been made in recent years to advance surgical, obstetric and anesthesia care around the world. Over five billion people remain without access to safe surgical care. Strong health systems are key in dealing with health crises, as was illustrated by the recent COVID-19 pandemic, in which the surgical ecosystem was integral to the pandemic response. Surgical systems have a direct relation with the four pillars of universal health coverage: i) the availability of services; ii) resources and equipment; iii) demand and iv) access to services of health. The weakening of these four components impacts the provision and utilization of surgical care, which leads to a reduction in the coverage of surgical health services with an increase in deaths. An integrated and holistic approach to build up health systems that includes increased emphasis on surgical care delivery is currently lacking. It is important to bring all key stakeholders (academia, private sector, government organizations, philanthropy and non-governmental organizations, etc.) to the table to define the innovative solutions and pave the way forward.