Global Surgery and Trauma Research
An estimated 11–32% of the global disease burden is due to surgically correctable illnesses. Lancet Commission on Global Surgery estimated that 5 billion people do not have adequate access to safe affordable surgical care when needed. Contrary to belief, investing in surgical services in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is affordable, saves lives, and promotes economic growth. Global Surgery is defined as an area of study, research, practice, and advocacy that seeks to improve health outcomes and achieve health equity for all people who need surgical and anaesthesia care, with a special emphasis on underserved populations and populations in crisis. Among these surgically treatable diseases, trauma causes over four million deaths annually, predominantly in LMICs and is an important aspect of Global surgery. Cancer, similarly, is the second most lethal noncommunicable disease after cardiovascular disease and accounted for about 9.9 million deaths, globally in 2020. Around 9% of all cancer death
The UHC Accelerator
Universal health coverage (UHC) means that all people have access to the full range of quality health services they need, when and where they need them, without financial hardship. It covers the full continuum of essential health services, from health promotion to prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and palliative care.
The UHC Accelerator was established with the mission of supporting and convening national political champions to accelerate UHC reforms.
We aim to:
Provide mentorship for implementers and change-makers at the national level;
Contribute to the generation and use of rigorous, high-quality research on UHC;
Create safe and trusted spaces for open, provocative dialogue that can directly drive policy form and programme design.
The UHC Accelerator complements other global initiatives by connecting experienced UHC reformers with people who have the power and authority in their countries to accelerate UHC - bringing together those driving health system
The George Institute 2026-2027 Pre Budget Submission
Policy & Practice Report
Five year review of the Health Star rating system
Policy & Practice Report
Strengthening cancer care in the Asia-Pacific region
Background
Cancer incidence is rising rapidly worldwide, with projections estimating 24 million new cases annually by 2035. Low- and middle-income countries are expected to bear over 70% of this burden, with the Asia-Pacific region (APAC) particularly affected. In 2020, APAC accounted for nearly 60% of global cancer deaths, and cancer remains the second leading cause of mortality in the region, responsible for approximately 4.5 million deaths in 2016. A significant challenge in APAC is the shortfall in radiotherapy services, with projections indicating that over 5 million cancer patients annually will require radiotherapy by 2035. Despite technological advancements, audits of radiotherapy services across the region have highlighted gaps in quality and accessibility, underscoring the urgent need for investment in infrastructure and data-driven improvements.
A key factor in enhancing radiotherapy services is the effective use of information systems, which can store and analyse crucial data on pa
Improving cancer care in South East Asia
Policy & Practice Report
MAT Study: Determining the effects of metformin among people with small abdominal aortic aneurysms
Background
An abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is an enlarged area in the lower part of the major vessel that supplies blood to the body. Most AAAs are detected when they are small, and affected patients are monitored by regular repeat imaging until their aneurysm expands to a size where surgical repair is required.
The only current treatment is high-risk surgery. Numerous trials have been conducted in the last 20 years to try to identify an effective medical therapy for AAA, but all published trials to date have been unsuccessful.
There is substantial epidemiological and pre-clinical evidence to suggest that a widely used, safe and low-cost drug called metformin may prevent serious AAA-related events such as ruptures, death or need for surgery, however a large-scale randomised control trial (RCT) is needed to test any such benefit reliably.
Aims
The primary aim of the Metformin Aneurysm Trial (MAT) is to assess whether metformin prevents the need for AAA repair by surgery, or death from A
Submission on the National Food Security Strategy Discussion Paper
Policy & Practice Report
WHO’s draft Global Plan of Action for the Health of Indigenous Peoples
Policy & Practice Report
FoodSwitch App
FoodSwitch packaged food database empowers you with access to information to help you make informed decisions about what you eat
Evaluating the impact, investment case and scale-up of ‘Health Promoting Schools’ in Fiji
BackgroundIn 2016, Health Promoting Schools (HPS) under the Fiji School Health Policy was launched as a joint program by the Ministry of Health and Medical Services and the Ministry of Education of Fiji. This is a ‘whole of school’ approach to improving health and wellbeing of Fiji’s children and youth by incorporating into the school curriculum resources to improve awareness and competency in promoting healthy behaviours. It has three key areas of focus: 1) diet and physical activity; 2) water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH); and 3) mental health and wellbeing. In this initial phase of implementation, with support from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), HPS was delivered in 285 primary (ages 6-14 years, grades 1-8) and secondary schools (ages 14-18 years, grades 9-12).There has been limited evaluation of the HPS program with important issues as yet answered: how the HPS program is being used across the participating schools, whether the program
RESist-NCD: Building resilient and people-centred health systems for non-communicable disease prevention and control in Pacific and Southeast Asian countries
The RESist-NCD Partnership
RESist-NCD comprises a comprehensive four-year program of work (2024-2028) to support governments in Fiji, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia to develop interventions for the prevention and early treatment of diabetes and hypertension (a key cardiovascular disease risk factor). The RESist-NCD consortium includes: The George Institute for Global Health; UNSW, Sydney; and the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), and embeds strong partnership with relevant interest-holders in governments, health services, academic institutions, civil society organisations, communities and international agencies in the RESist-NCD partner countries.
The RESist-NCD program is addressing crucial gaps in NCD policy implementation through three integrated workstreams that take a whole systems approach. Our program will not only strengthen high quality, equitable diabetes and hypertension prevention, screening and management services integrated with primary health care
