ABOUT US
BACKGROUND
Surgery is a critical component of healthcare systems and is essential for improving health outcomes. However, access to safe, timely, and affordable surgical care remains a significant challenge in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In Africa, this challenge is particularly acute, with an estimated 93% of the population lacking access to safe, timely, and affordable surgical care. The shortage of surgical providers and resources, inadequate infrastructure, and limited funding are some of the key barriers that need to be addressed to improve surgical care in Africa. According to the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery, an estimated 16.9 million people die each year from conditions that require surgical care, with over 90% of these deaths occurring in LMICs. These challenges highlight the need for contextualized surgical policies to address local and regional needs.
OUR MISSION
The Pan-African Surgical Healthcare Forum (PASHeF) was established in July 2023 as an African platform to devise solutions tailored to the needs and challenges facing the continent in improving surgical healthcare. The main objective of this Forum is to bring together key stakeholders—policymakers, clinicians, researchers, and advocates—to discuss and address the challenges of improving surgical healthcare in Africa. It also serves as a platform to share innovative strategies, practical experiences, and best practices, while aiding in the mobilization of resources to strengthen and advance surgical healthcare across the continent.
Bring together decision-making stakeholders from Ministries of Health
Discuss the challenges Africa is facing in improving surgical and anesthesia care
Provide a platform for sharing experiences, best practices, and innovative approaches to strengthen and advance surgical healthcare in Africa
Facilitate collaboration and partnership between countries to create a harmonized surgical and anesthesia ecosystem in Africa.
PARTNERSHIPS
The inaugural PASHeF forum was a two-day consensus conference of technocrats from African Ministries of Health to discuss challenges, share experiences, and collectively chart the path forward for Africa. The conference took place in Kigali, Rwanda, on July 13 and 14, 2023 organized in collaboration between with Smile Train and the University of Global Health Equity (UGHE), Center for Equity in Global Surgery (CEIGS) hosted by the Honorable Minister for Health of Rwanda. The forum theme focused on national surgical healthcare policies and plans, and included plenary sessions, breakout group discussions, a consensus exercise, and networking breaks. For the governance structure and mechanism of the forum to be established by the PASHeF Secretariat that is based at the University of Global Health Equity (UGHE) to support the early stages of PASHeF's implementation and operationalization.
