Paediatric surgery for congenital anomalies: the next frontier for global health

Abstract

Paediatric surgery has historically been neglected in global health efforts.1,2 Estimates suggest that 6% of children worldwide are born with a congenital anomaly and 94% of these children are born in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs).3 Surgical intervention for these children is potentially life-saving. However, many are among the two-thirds of the world's children, or an estimated 1·7 billion children, who lack access to surgical care.4 In The Lancet, the Global PaedSurg Research Collaboration report that the mortality of patients with congenital gastrointestinal anomalies in low-income countries is seven times that of children in high-income countries.