Around 5 billion people — about two-thirds of the world’s population — globally lack access to safe, affordable surgical care. 

Despite carrying 25% of the global surgical disease burden, Africa is served by just 2% of the world’s surgical workforce. The reasons for this disparity are complex — from underresourced medical education systems to the migration of trained professionals seeking better pay and working conditions abroad.

In this podcast episode, Operation Smile’s chief medical officer, Dr. Billy Magee, and University of Rwanda’s Professor Faustin Ntirenganya join Devex’s Kate Warren to discuss some of the strategies that have emerged as the most promising for enhancing surgical care access, and learnings from Operation Smile in Rwanda. They also discuss progress made at the inaugural Pan-African Surgical Conference, which took place in late February in Kigali, and was organized by Operation Smile in partnership with the Rwanda Ministry of Health, Rwanda Surgical Society, and the University of Rwanda. 

This episode is sponsored by Operation Smile.