Historically, surgery and anesthesia have been largely omitted from the global public health discourse. However, conditions ranging from injuries to cancer to complications from childbirth comprise a significant and growing proportion of global death and disability, and all require surgical attention. Research done over the last several decades has highlighted the essential role of surgical care i
n health systems strengthening in resource-poor settings. Nonetheless, surgery still is inaccessible to those who may need it the most: the majority of the world’s poor. The Fellowship was formed in an effort to not only shed light on the growing health, surgical and anesthesia, and economic disparities in low- and middle-income countries, but also, to work closely with local governments and populations, healthcare workers, NGOs, and other individuals and institutions, with an unwavering commitment to strengthen health systems and access to surgical care across the globe. The Program in Global Surgery and Social Change (PGSSC) is a collaborative effort between the Harvard teaching hospitals, Harvard Medical School/ Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital (B*H) and Partners In Health (PIH). Through the Paul Farmer Global Surgery Fellowships and Research Associate positions, it aims to empower surgeons, surgical trainees, and medical students around the world with the skills they need to improve the health of some of the world's most impoverished people through education & training, research, and advocacy.
