Surgeons, or Lack Thereof, in - Michaela

According to the NYT estimates, a patient in Madagascar has a 90% chance of incurring financial catastrophe in order to achieve surgery. That is, of course, if they can find access to surgery in the first place. 71% of people in Madagascar don't have access to surgery, which is unsurprising given that there are forty times fewer surgical specialists (surgeons, anesthesiologists, obstetricians) per person in Madagascar than in the US. Of these, 75% live in urban cities, despite only 35% of the country's general population living there. What becomes even more depressing is that Madagascar is doing better than most countries in Africa in this respect. Eight million people (!!!!) a year die globally as a result of lack of access to surgery specifically - this causes a burden of disease on par with that of HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria, but receives far less attention and far fewer resources. It's got me wondering about what technologies are out there or could be designed for surgery in remote locations or in the field. Definitely something I'll be thinking about on our trip. - Michaela
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