The Program in Global Surgery and Social Change - The PGSSC

A surgeon’s harrowing escape!

As 1 of only 4 female pediatric surgeons in Afghanistan, Dr. Dunya Moghul was forced to flee her country and career in 2021.

But she refused to give up! Today, she’s rebuilding her career while still fighting for children who need surgery back home. From Canada, she helped build a pediatric OR in Kabul that performed 1,000 surgeries in 10 months, cutting wait times from 6 to 2-3 months.

We are grateful to Dr. Dunya for sharing her inspiring journey with our fellows today. Her story speaks to the possibility of hope and resilience even in the face of political instability.

Read her full story: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2022.02.021

A new study shows that nearly half of Brazilian boys with undescended testicles (cryptochidism) are not getting timely surgery😲. These thousands of boys missing critical surgery are at risk of infertility and even cancer. Every child deserves proper care, no matter where they live. How can the quantity and quality of public heath services be improved?. Read the full study here: https://www.jpurol.com/article/S1477-5131(25)00410-3/abstract

How can robust health informatics help bridge the gap between data collection and meaningful healthcare improvements?

Yesterday, we hosted Dr. Ismat Mohammed Sulaiman from Malaysia’s Ministry of Health. She shared impressive insights on how their national health data warehouse (MyHDW) is transforming healthcare delivery.

Key highlights from her presentation:
📍From standardized diagnosis coding to streamlined registries, Malaysia is showing what’s possible when we prioritize data quality and accessibility.
📍With 20+ years of patient data and an average of 3 million inpatient records annually across public hospitals, MyHDW exists to support policymakers.
📍With a unified platform connecting 3000+ clinics nationwide, MyHDW prioritizes “right time” over “realtime” data

Visit https://myhdw.moh.gov.my/public/home for more

🌍 Are you passionate about health equity, global surgery, and driving real-world impact? Join the Program in Global Surgery and Social Change (PGSSC)—a community of advocates and researchers advancing surgical, anesthesia, and obstetric (SAO) care for all.

🚨 We’re recruiting our next cohort of Research Fellows (2 year position) and Research Coordinators (1 year position)!

Dive into meaningful research, policy & advocacy, education, and capacity-building—all while being mentored by leading voices in global surgery!

🔗 Learn more at our Town Hall Sessions on May 28th and June 5th — https://tinyurl.com/pgssctownhall

📅 Applications open June 1, 2025
💡 Note: This is a non-clinical position; external funding required.

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📣 Join the virtually on May 12th for a discussion with Drs. Pedro Kremer, Jacob Pendergrast, and Juan Carlos Puyana, on the utility of drone-based delivery technology as one potential strategy to help tackle the global crisis! 🩸

🖥️Register: tinyurl.com/DBD-webinar

🌍 Join the Conversation on A Comprehensive Approach to Financing Global Surgical Care!

🚨 Did you know? 5 billion people lack access to safe, timely, and affordable surgical care—critical for addressing 30% of the global disease burden. Despite progress in creating National Surgical Plans (NSPs), financing remains the biggest hurdle.

📅 WEBINAR SERIES ALERT
Hosted by the Program in Global Surgery and Social Change (PGSSC), this series dives deep into bridging the $375 billion annual funding gap for health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Learn about innovative financing mechanisms, case studies, and strategies to mobilize resources for equitable surgical care.

💡SESSION DETAILS
📍 Where: Zoom (link will be sent upon registration, at a closer date to the webinar)
📍 When: Timings are listed according to each session in the poster above.

🔗 Don’t miss out, and register now through the QR code, or use this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1pGi0k8zdnQELHx_Xt1PCQ90KTafrAniDMsHgAxUrfyk/edit

Together, let’s make safe surgery accessible to all!

Strong words about a worthy cause from Dr. Nakul Raykar advocating for Unbanked
Directed Blood Transfusion (Walking Blood Banks) at ARSICON 2025

PGSSC past and present, with WACS and UGHE at Academic Surgical Congress 2025!

We are excited to invite you all to the next Research Seminar by the Paul Farmer Collaborative! We will be talking about Social Media in Global Surgery with an amazing line up of speakers.
Remember to register here: pgssc.org/researchseminar

APCs Threaten Open Access Discussion

In response to growing concerns amongst global public health researchers about the burgeoning costs of APCs and their impact on equity in the low-resource field of global public health, we invite you to join us for a discussion on article processing charges (APCs). The hybrid event will comprise a panel, followed by an open discussion about how we as a community can contribute to true open science (that is inclusive for readers AND authors).

Date: January 21st, 10h00 EST. RSVP for event link (Google Form).

RSVP now: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdVfmtHvI9YaoL6dSW11MELlxsVTaYpZURCKQZfi7em2GScrQ/viewform

Link to Med Rxiv under review: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.11.22.24317779v1