Table 3.

Key policy and systemic challenges affecting plastic surgery services in rural and urban African areas. Source: Created by Rawan Noureddine based on Ngene et al., 2023

Challenge	Rural Areas	Urban Areas
Lack of resources	Limited availability of proper medical material and surgical equipment	Better access to technologies and materials
Shortage in professionals	Shortage of trained surgeons and nurses	Areas of concentration of healthcare professionals and specialists
Lack of medical insurance coverage	Most are poor with low-income class and no insurance	Better insurance plans
Lack of infrastructure	Lack of electricity and water services, lack of ambulances and poor communications	Better services and faster access to clinics