United Nations-affiliated organization will support CURE’s mission for expanded access to childhood surgeries
It’s often said that it takes a village to raise a child. To heal a child, however, it takes the entire international community.
CURE International and the Global Surgery Foundation (GSF) have announced a joint memorandum of understanding (MoU) to improve access to surgical care and local surgical capacity around the world. This exciting new partnership is a major step forward for both organizations as they seek to ensure access to surgical services for the most vulnerable.
GSF is a Switzerland-based international organization anchored in the United Nations that seeks to increase the global availability of surgical care for people, regardless of where they happen to live. The GSF collaborates with countries, UN agencies, international organizations, and civil society organizations with the goal of increasing surgical capacity in countries that need the most assistance.
“This is a great moment in our goal to bring life-changing surgeries to all of God’s children who need it,” said Justin Narducci, President/CEO of CURE International. “It’s great to see the world coming together to address such a major issue that burdens so many.”
Lack of access to basic surgical care is the cause of an estimated 30% of the global burden of disease, leading to 17 million preventable deaths globally each year (six times greater than the death toll of HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis combined). Therefore, the vision of the GSF is a world with universal and equitable access to safe, quality, timely, and affordable surgical, obstetric, and anesthesia care.
By working together, both organizations will benefit from each other’s experience and expertise to advance global access to surgical care, specifically by developing innovative training, capacity-building, and service delivery programs. The collaboration will also include national surgical planning and a focus on sustainable development in global surgery and will extend to other joint projects of mutual interest, including fundraising, research, and organizing international conferences and symposia to raise the profile of the need to support global surgery efforts.
About CURE International
CURE International is a Christian nonprofit organization that operates a global network of pediatric surgical hospitals, which serve one of the world’s most marginalized and vulnerable populations – children with disabilities. Patients at CURE hospitals suffer from orthopedic, neurosurgical, and maxillofacial conditions that limit their mobility/functionality and opportunities for education and employment. In addition to world-class clinical service, CURE intentionally ministers to the emotional and spiritual needs of patients in its care and invests in training programs that aim to equip the next generation of health workers and strengthen national health care systems. Since inception, CURE has conducted more than 5.3 million patient visits and 330,000 surgical procedures around the world. For more information, visit https://cure.org/.
