Up to one third of human disease in developing countries is amenable to surgery.
Yet, The Lancet Commission on Global Surgery identifies that more than 17 million
people die each year from a lack of safe surgery. That is more than three times the
annual number of people who die from HIV, Malaria and TB combined.
In addition, billions of people experience chronic pain, financial catastrophe and social stigma because of injuries, ailments and disfigurements that surgery could quickly fix.
The links between a lack of affordable healthcare and global poverty are also clear. There is an urgent need for significant growth in surgical capacity and training. Mercy Ships (mercyships.org.au) is committed to increasing our own surgical and training capacity, and to raising awareness of the need for, and impact of, surgery in developing countries.
Mercy Ships knows that safe surgery saves and transforms lives, but the cost and limited access to safe, affordable, and timely surgery makes this aspect
of healthcare unobtainable for over 5 billion people.
Among the countries Mercy Ships serves, which lie on the lower third of the World
Health Organization’s Human Development Index, access to available and reliable
healthcare is extremely limited. Diseases, congenital defects, and more go untreated.
Countless people suffer and die from maladies that can easily be treated.
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