Health systems strengthening: a call from the future of the operating room
Once coined the neglected stepchild of global health, surgical care has become an integral part of healthcare.1 Five billion people worldwide lack access to safe, timely, and affordable surgery, obstetrics, and anesthesia, causing over 18 million preventable deaths each year.2 To systematically address infrastructural and workforce shortages, and increase the accessibility of safe surgical care, National Surgical, Obstetric, and Anesthesia Plans (NSOAPs) are being developed around the world.3 As strategic plans embedded within countries' national health plans, NSOAPs allow for comprehensive health system strengthening across workforce, infrastructure, service delivery, financing, information management, and governance.4