The current COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted inequities in access to health care, even within the borders of high-resource countries (BMJ Open 2020;10:e039849). The global vaccine distribution maps vividly demonstrate the inequities between high- and low-resource regions of our globe (asamonitor.pub/3jORVNw). These inequities are emblematic of decades of systematic underinvestment in health care systems, with surgical and anesthesia care particularly neglected. Greater than 95% of the population of South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa do not have access to safe, timely ,and affordable surgical care, compared to less than 5% in North America (Lancet Glob Health 2015;3:e316-23). In addition, perioperative mortality rates are many times greater in low-resource regions of the world, human resources for anesthesia care are much lower, and the system impact of advanced surgical pathophysiology in Sub-Sahara African patients is poorly understood (Anesthesiology 2020;132:452-60; Anesth Analg 2017;125:981-90).
What causes these...
