Global Ambassador Announcement

“I have worked as a pediatric surgeon in Eastern Africa for 24 years. This work is both a privilege and a challenge since our region does not have the necessary resources to provide safe, comprehensive surgical care to the millions of needy children in our region.Governments and policymakers do not give the necessary attention to children in low- and middle-income countries. Without the required support systems, including infrastructure and human resources, we do not have good surgical outcomes for our children. Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 to “end preventable deaths in neonates and children under 5 by 2030” is unachievable without urgent action to improve access to quality pediatric surgical care in Sub-Saharan Africa. As a surgeon, it is always heartbreaking when a child dies after or during surgery. Knowing that had they been born in a different place they would have had access to the necessary care is a difficult burden to bear. We desperately need to focus on safe pediatric surgical care.

In this role I will continue to advocate for focus and funding from governments and policymakers for interventions that work deeply on the surgical management of children. We need safe surgery to be practiced for good outcomes. We need to scale training and capacity building. We need research and innovation in pediatric surgical care. Only through this can we work to keep every precious life safe. As the Initiative’s Global Ambassador, I look forward to keeping you abreast of this work in the year ahead to make every surgery safer. Thank you.”Professor Derbew takes over from Dr. Atul Gawande who was Global Amabassador for year one of the Smile Train-Lifebox Initiative. Watch Professor Derbew discuss surgical safety with leading experts in this video below.