Lifebox champions women’s health

Making surgery safer for women worldwide

Around the world, millions of women face unsafe or unavailable surgical care, putting their lives at risk during childbirth and beyond. Lifebox is working to change this reality by making surgery and anesthesia safer in low-resource settings. We address the leading causes of surgical complications— surgical site infections, poor operating room teamwork, and inadequate anesthesia monitoring.

Since 2011, Lifebox has improved surgical safety for more than 248 million patients across 116 countries, with roughly half of those patients being women.

With cesarean section as one of the most common surgical procedures worldwide, Lifebox prioritizes safe surgery for women as a core part of our mission. Our work ensures that mothers not only survive but thrive, strengthening families and communities through safer surgical care.

  • 313 million

    Surgical procedures are performed worldwide every year

  • 1 in 14

    operations globally is a cesarean section

  • 23,000

    cesarean deliveries made safer

Through our Clean Cut for Cesarean Section program, Lifebox has significantly reduced surgical infections and improved maternal outcomes. Building on this success, we are expanding our work to enhance surgical safety for a wider range of obstetric and gynaecology procedures, including fistula repair and cancer surgeries, advancing our mission to make surgery safer for women everywhere.

Our Impact

Clean Cut implements six evidence-based perioperative standards designed to significantly reduce surgical site infections. Across 47 pilot hospitals in 11 countries, Clean Cut has achieved a remarkable 35% reduction in surgical site infections, positively impacting over 270,000 surgical patients, with women comprising 40% of those benefiting. 

Recognizing the importance of maternal health, Clean Cut has been specifically adapted for cesarean deliveries, improving safety for approximately 10,500 mothers. In Ethiopia, Clean Cut has led to substantial compliance improvements, increasing adherence to safety standards from 51% to 87% across nine hospitals, contributing to a reduction in both maternal and perinatal complications. 

Post-implementation studies have shown that these improvements in compliance and patient outcomes are sustained for 6 to 18 months following program completion, underscoring the lasting impact of Clean Cut on surgical safety.  

“Unsafe surgery is one of the most urgent and solvable challenges in global health, especially for women. Women are particularly vulnerable to weak or disorganized health systems given that cesarean delivery and other important and lifesaving operations unique to women can make up half of all operations in many health centers.”
Professor Thomas G. Weiser, Chair of the Lifebox Global Governance Council.

 

Women in Health Leadership

Lifebox’s leadership team is predominantly female (62%) and majority-based in the Global South (77%). We empower local healthcare providers to lead surgical safety initiatives, ensuring sustainable improvements in maternal and neonatal outcomes. 
By investing in women clinical leaders, providing evidence-based training, and implementing proven safety programs, Lifebox champions women in health and women’s health, ensuring that safe surgery is a reality for every woman, everywhere. 

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