Today an 18 year old pregnant woman in a rural village in India, who did not have access to prenatal care, is experiencing severe pre-eclampsia symptoms, but does not have enough time or ability to make the journey to the nearest surgical facility for assisted delivery. She will lose her unborn child and her own life, leaving her family without a caregiver, and thus diminishing many lives in her community. A laborer in Kenya who has severely broken his arm cannot access surgery necessary to reset it. He will lose use of his arm and no longer be able to work and provide food and education for his children.

Multiply these incidents by tens of thousands to begin to feel the weight of this tragic, but unnecessary, loss of life and of physical capacity due to lack of access to affordable, safe surgical and anesthesia care throughout the world.

More than 5 billion people world-wide have no access to life – saving affordable surgical and anesthesia care. In 2010, an estimated 16.9 million lives (32.9% of all deaths worldwide) were lost from conditions such as obstructed labor, fractures, appendicitis needing surgical care. Obstetric surgeries are one of the most prevalent conditions in Low and Moderate Income Countries (LMICs)  which remain untreated by surgery. Nine of ten people have no access to basic surgery.  This lack of surgical care also leads to a dramatic number of disabilities. Over $12 trillion in productivity and economic development globally will be lost between 2015 and 2030 if this lack continues.

The founders of the Darwin Project became interested in Global surgery through Linda’s long term interest and background in public health issues and Jonathan’s own experience having sustained serious bone fractures from a bicycle crash in a rural area with no access to surgical care.

While the Darwin Project is not a large enough organization to make sweeping change in Global Surgery and public health, we are interested in supporting organizations and individuals who show promise of being the instruments of change internationally and locally.

To help guide us in our global surgery and public health work, we are fortunate to have on our team Jack Wixted, MD., Orthopaedic Trauma Surgeon at Beth Israel Hospital, Boston, and Assistant Professor, Orthopedic Surgery, Harvard Medical School.