Surgical practice in a low-resource setting in an African context: a narrative review

Abstract

Background: Despite the global need for over 234 million annual surgical procedures, low- and middle-income countries face critical challenges due to insufficient healthcare infrastructure, a limited surgical workforce, and financial constraints. This review highlights the historical development of surgical practices in Africa, the disparities in access to surgical care, and the persistent barriers to achieving equitable outcomes. Methods: A comprehensive literature search was performed across five major databases - Web of Science, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Semantic Scholar, and Google Scholar - to explore the historical development, current challenges, and future directions of surgical practices in low-resource settings in Africa. The search utilized keywords and no restrictions on publication dates. The identified studies were screened for eligibility based on predefined criteria, leading to the inclusion of eligible papers conducted in Africa and reports published in English. The data were qualitatively analyzed to identify key themes and descriptively narrated to convey the findings and proper actionable recommendations. Results: Insufficient infrastructure, a lack of qualified personnel, and restricted access to cutting-edge technologies are some of the difficulties in providing surgical treatment in low-resource environments that are highlighted in the study. It demands interdisciplinary strategies, the use of cutting-edge technologies, and the giving of healthcare policy a top priority. Conclusion: This review underscores the importance of a unified, globally supported effort to bridge the surgical gap and advance equitable healthcare access in Africa.