‘Climate Change and Health Indicators’ and ‘Surgical System Strengthening’: an opportunity for synergy

Abstract

Climate change is a public health emergency. Yet, incongruously, the healthcare sector is a significant source of global greenhouse gas emissions. Surgical systems are uniquely situated to address this public health crisis due to the high carbon footprint associated with surgical care delivery and the ability of strong surgical systems to foster broader climate resilience. There is an urgent need for climate change and health indicators (CCHIs) specific to surgical care to address the environmental impacts of surgery and reduce the impacts of climate change on the health of individuals, populations and surgical care delivery. In proposing a set of example CCHIs pertinent to surgical care, we call the surgical community to action to improve and refine existing indicators while simultaneously engaging in national and regional surgical system strengthening efforts. Moreover, aligning such efforts can help bridge existing climate and health funding gaps which, to date, have proved a critical barrier to ensuring effective healthcare mitigation and adaptation.