GLOBAL INITIATIVES

The Global Initiative for Emergency and Essential Surgical Care (GIEESC)

In 2005 the World Health Organization established this initiative in order to improve access to and quality of surgical care in developing countries. The initiative is a partnership of organizations and individuals from around the world committed to working together to promote and support the development of appropriate surgical services in developing countries. HVO is a partner of this initiative and several of our members serve as advisors and consultants to the Initiative. In addition, these members also represent HVO at annual meetings of the GIEESC. To date, the GIEESC has made several strides in promoting emergency and essential surgical care. An Integrated Management of Emergency and Essential Surgery e-toolkit has been developed, which is being used in a series of “training the trainers” workshops around the world. To learn more about the work of the GIEESC visit the WHO web site.

Safe Surgery Saves Lives Initiative

The World Alliance for Patient Safety, which is part of the World Health Organization, recently launched this initiative aimed to improve the safety of surgical care around the world. This initiative stemmed for the Alliances' work on the second Global Patient Challenge formulated in January 2007. The first objective of the initiative is to begin to set standards for surgical care throughout the world. As a first step in reaching this objective they have developed a one-page safe surgery checklist for surgery teams to insure that patients receive the correct operation, at the correct site with safe anesthesia, known infection-prevention measures, and using effective teamwork for safe care.

HVO has joined with over 260 other organization in endorsing this initiative. HVO members can also play a significant role, both in the US and abroad, by discussing and incorporating the goals of the campaign 1) raise awareness that improvement in surgical safety is essential to public health; 2) support the safe surgery checklist, and 3) support the establishment of “surgical vital statistics' asking countries to track surgical volume and in-hospital surgical death rates. To learn more about this initiative, visit the WHO web site.

          Safe Surgery Saves Lives Newsletter – Dec 2010
          WHO Patient Safety Newsletter – Oct 2010
          Safe Surgery Saves Lives Newsletter – Aug 2010
          Safe Surgery Saves Lives Newsletter – Jun 2010
          Safe Surgery Saves Lives Newsletter – Apr 2010
          Safe Surgery Saves Lives Newsletter – Jan 2010

Global Health Workforce Alliance

Health workers are the heart and soul of health systems. And yet, the world is faced with a chronic shortage - an estimated 4.2 million health workers are needed to bridge the gap, with 1.5 million needed in Africa alone. The critical shortage is recognized as one of the most fundamental constraints to achieving progress on health and reaching health and development goals.

The Global Health Workforce Alliance (The Alliance) was created in 2006 as a common platform for action to address the crisis. The Alliance is a partnership of national governments, civil society, international agencies, finance institutions, researchers, educators and professional associations dedicated to identifying, implementing and advocating for solutions. HVO is a member of The Alliance and through our programs is committed to highlighting the essential role of health workers.

The Global Health Workforce Alliance launched a dedicated YouTube channel to focus on health workforce issues and invites all members and partners to join the community.
          Global Health Workforce Alliance