"Providing Safe Anesthesia for a Child in Rwanda."

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Providing Safe Anesthesia for a Child in Rwanda

"Two billion people worldwide lack access to emergency or essential surgery, and 175,000 anesthetics annually are delivered without pulse oximetry...

Lancet, 2012

There is an anesthesia crisis in low-income countries around the world. Most of them have fewer than 1 physician per 10,000 people-and fewer than 1 anesthesiologist per 100,000 people. A recent Lancet article concludes:

2 billion People without access to emergency and essential surgery worldwide.
34 million anesthetics are delivered annually without pulse oximetry (or oxygen or a trained provider).

Even where nurse and technical anesthesia providers exist, the lack of physician anesthesia expertise means higher education is limited and the level of care is compromised. These countries need swift and substantial action to address this global health crisis. By providing safe anesthesia for surgery, labor and delivery and other procedures, by providing acute and chronic pain relief strategies, and by providing the highest level of intensive care available, these populations can experience increased longevity, improved maternal mortality rates, and higher survival rates from trauma and other emergencies which threaten health.

The ASA Committee on Global Humanitarian Outreach is addressing this crisis through:

  • Encouraging volunteerism and providing opportunities with reputable aid and mission organizations
  • Supporting anesthesia education and training in low and middle income countries
  • Advocating for long term academic partnership with hospitals and universities in countries of need
  • Providing for collaboration of organizations, institutions and initiatives with common missions and philosophies

Anesthesiologists Worldwide

United States of America

1 Anesthesiologists for every 260 Patients (Number of Patients: 13.7 Million).

Republic of Ghana

1 Anesthesiologists for every 55,000 Patients (Number of Patients: 3.5 Million).

 

Donate to Lifebox 

Lifebox is a not-for-profit organization saving lives by improving the safety and quality of surgical care in low-resource countries.

View a video about Lifebox

GHO Alerts

June 4, 2013

Operation Rainbow-One Week Mission to Loja, Ecuador

06/15/2013 until 06/23/2013 
Anesthesiologists needed to join an orthopedic surgery mission to Loja, Ecuador.

June 3, 2013

LEAP Missions

LEAP is a non-profit surgical missions organization that sends teams to areas of the world where there are no specialists. Doctors perform complex surgical reconstructions, at no charge, to the patients. LEAP is characterized by its commitment to the long-term.

May 20, 2013

Lifebox Volunteer Opportunity

The GHO Committee is kicking off Lifebox training in Central America with a first trip planned for Nicaragua in November 2013. Ten volunteers are needed for this 5-day training. If you are interested in participating, please fill out the application. Also join us for the Train the Trainers Workshop at the ANESTHESIOLOGY™ 2013 annual meeting this October.



Disaster Relief Alerts

December 11, 2012

Hurricane Sandy Relief

The ASA Charitable Foundation is now accepting donations to the victims of Hurricane Sandy.

May 2, 2012

Disaster Relief Resources

For information on disaster relief, visit the Committee on Trauma and Emergency Preparedness resource page.

About ASA: The American Society of Anesthesiologists is an educational, research and scientific association of physicians organized to raise and maintain the standards of the medical practice of anesthesiology and improve the care of the patient. Since its founding in 1905, the Society's achievements have made it an important voice in American Medicine and the foremost advocate for all patients who require anesthesia or relief from pain.

American Society of Anesthesiologists