Surgical Care in Rural Africa
Only 6% of surgeries are performed in the world’s poorest countries where over one third of the world’s population lives.1 Malawi has one of the lowest surgeon densities worldwide, with around 50 surgeons (of which 50% are general surgeons) for a population of 20 million.2 However, 35% of Malawi’s population live with a condition requiring surgical care.3 This article describes some of the challenges of providing surgical care in rural Malawi.