Schistosomal appendicitis: Case series and systematic literature review.

Background: Globally, schistosomiasis affects at least 240 million people each year with a high proportion of cases in sub-Saharan Africa. The infection presents a wide range of symptoms mainly at the gastrointestinal and urogenital level. Cases of schistosomiasis-related appendicitis are seldom reported.

Essential surgery at the district hospital: a retrospective descriptive analysis in three African countries.

Background: Surgical conditions contribute significantly to the disease burden in sub-Saharan Africa. Yet there is an apparent neglect of surgical care as a public health intervention to counter this burden. There is increasing enthusiasm to reverse this trend, by promoting essential surgical services at the district hospital, the first point of contact for critical conditions for rural populations.

Human resource and funding constraints for essential surgery in district hospitals in Africa: a retrospective cross-sectional survey.

Background: There is a growing recognition that the provision of surgical services in low-income countries is inadequate to the need. While constrained health budgets and health worker shortages have been blamed for the low rates of surgery, there has been little empirical data on the providers of surgery and cost of surgical services in Africa. This study described the range of providers of surgical care and anesthesia and estimated the resources dedicated to surgery at district hospitals in three African countries.

Increasing access to surgical services in sub-saharan Africa: priorities for national and international agencies recommended by the Bellagio Essential Surgery Group.

In this Policy Forum, the Bellagio Essential Surgery Group, which was formed to advocate for increased access to surgery in Africa, recommends four priority areas for national and international agencies to target in order to address the surgical burden of disease in sub-Saharan Africa.