OKUMU: Health reform without surgeons? That’s a dangerous mistake

In Kenya today, a cancer diagnosis is often the beginning of a financial free fall. A broken leg from a road traffic accident can trap a family in debt for years. A C-section can mean choosing between saving a mother and educating her children. These stories are not rare—they’re routine. And they all have one thing in common: surgery.

Nearly five billion people around the world lack access to safe, timely and affordable surgical care and surgical conditions account for about 30 per cent of the global disease burden.