Surgery Elsewhere

Ein Bericht über den Einsatz des Swiss Medical Teams in Tadschikistan

In February 2024, I had the privilege of spending two weeks at Ganga Hospital in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, South India, a city with a population of over 2 million. Ganga Hospital is a recognized trauma center and has repeatedly been named one of the best hospitals in India. 

Only 6% of surgeries are performed in the world’s poorest countries where over one third of the world’s population lives.¹ Malawi has one of the lowest surgeon densities worldwide, with around 50 surgeons (of which 50% are general surgeons) for a population of 20 million.² However, 35% of Malawi’s population live with a condition requiring surgical care.³ This article describes some of the challenges of providing surgical care in rural Malawi.