WHO Global Initiative for Emergency and Essential Surgical Care (GIEESC)

Emergency & Essential Surgical Care programme, Department of Service Delivery and Safety, WHO, Geneva, Switzerland .

Collaborative workspace moderated by Dr Walt Johnson

WHO GIEESC was established in December 2005 as an international collaboration of Ministries of Health, WHO country and regional offices, local and international organizations, academia, and interested stakeholders representing surgical specialties, obstetrics and anaesthesia. GIEESC is involved in reducing preventable death and disability from all surgical conditions, such as road traffic accidents and other trauma, burns, pregnancy related complications, cancer, and the consequences of other non-communicable diseases. The specific objectives are:

• strengthen capacity to deliver safe, timely and affordable surgical, obstetric and anaesthesia care as a component of universal health coverage and advocate for the neglected surgical patient, both child and adult, that lacks access to this care;
• improve the quality of care through safe and timely surgical, obstetric and anaesthesia care, linked with appropriately available equipment, supplies and essential medicines in resource limited healthcare facilities;
• strengthen and expand training and education programs, along with associated credentialing bodies to fill enormous gaps in surgical, obstetric and anaesthesia health workforce in low and middle income countries.

World Health Organization
Health Systems and Innovation
20 Avenue Appia
1211, Geneva 27
Switzerland
Tel: +41 22 791 3867
Email: johnsonw@who.int

Website: http://www.who.int/surgery/en/