New York Times: Routine Surgeries Could Save Millions of Lives, if They Were Available
“Millions of people worldwide die from appendicitis, obstructed labor, compound fractures, and other treatable conditions for lack of routine surgeries, according to a report released Sunday. Because too few surgeons and anesthetists practice in most poor and middle-income countries, five billion of the world’s seven billion people cannot get lifesaving surgeries or cannot pay for them, the report said…” (McNeil, 4/27).

Thomson Reuters Foundation: Shortfall in operations causes a third of deaths worldwide: Lancet
“…The lack of operations causes a third of all deaths worldwide, with nearly 17 million people dying from conditions needing surgical care in 2010, a report published by the [Lancet Commission on Global Surgery] on Monday said…” (Whiting, 4/27).