Table 2.

Best practices to improve universal access to surgical care.

Recommendations	Explanation
1.International lobbying	Need a stronger unifying body and global leadership for global surgery. Expand international funding for global surgery research and advocacy.
2.National and local buy-in	Increased funding and prioritization of global surgery is required at the country level.
3.National surgical, obstetric and anaesthesia planning	Development and implementation of national plans to address the health burden of surgical conditions. Incorporate surgical plans into national health system strengthening agendas.
4.Decentralisation of surgical services	Increase surgical capacity and services at first-level hospitals to improve access to care.
5.Increase specialist and non-specialist surgical workforce	Provide opportunities for upskilling, training, mentorship and task-sharing as well as surgical workforce retention.
6.Standardise surgical data collection	Implement data collection systems to monitor and evaluate surgical care outcomes, progress and needs.
7.Implement quality improvement mechanisms for surgical systems	Utilising data provided from consistent monitoring and evaluation to implement mechanisms to improve the quality of surgical norms and standards.
8.Community engagement and involvement	Community participation to understand priorities and barriers to accessing surgical care.