How can Surgery Meet the Need in the UN Millennium Development Goals?
Provision of essential surgical care is critical in meeting the UN Millennium Development Goals in the following areas:
MDG 4: Reduce child mortality
- 3% of deaths in children under five years old globally are due to injuries
- 3% of infant deaths are due to congenital anomalies
- 260, 000 deaths worldwide are caused by congenital anomalies
- The more than 1 million children left motherless yearly are 10 times more likely to die prematurely
MDG 5: Improve maternal health
- More than 350,000 deaths worldwide are due to complications of pregnancy, one-third of which can be treated with surgery
- 8% of maternal deaths globally are due to obstructed labor
- 68,000 women die from unsafe abortions every year and between 2 to 7 million women suffer from long-term damage of reproductive organs or disease
- 1 out of 4 unsafe abortions will likely result in severe complications, even death.
- 50,000 to 100,000 women develop obstetric fistulas each year
- Over 2 million women currently live with obstetric fistulas
MDG 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria, and other infectious diseases
- Male circumcision reduces the risk of men acquiring HIV through heterosexual sex by 60%
- HIV transmission in nonsurgical healthworkers is .27% compared with .7% for surgical health workers without appropriate guidelines for surgical safety