Global Surgery at the Frontlines of Conflict Zones: Role of Health Diplomacy in the Provision of On‐Site Surgical Care to Children

ABSTRACT

Confrontational violence still puts catastrophic burdens on children, with 2024 being the highest recorded levels of displacement, malnutrition, injury, and deprivation in contemporary humanitarian history. Children's surgical care is still grossly underrepresented in health responses worldwide in the prevention of avoidable deaths and long‐term disability. We aimed to discuss the pressing necessity to re‐establish children's surgery as an integral part of emergency healthcare systems in conflict regions. It first establishes the epidemiological burden of surgical need and pediatric trauma among war‐exposed populations, and subsequently critically reviews the viability and clinical efficacy of on‐site surgical interventions rolled out via mobile units, modular theaters, and emergency trauma teams. This analysis incorporates the delivery of children's surgical services into broader public health frameworks, positioning it within the WHO's Emergency Medical Team strategy and within Universal Health Coverage through health diplomacy. Humanitarian ethics and protection of child rights under international law are used to assess issues of health equity and access. Findings emphasize the potential role of health diplomacy in shifting crisis management toward sustainable systemic change—demonstrating how surgical procedures can serve for peacebuilding and institutional rebuilding. By integrating existing evidence, field reporting, and international health policies, this review solidifies pediatric surgery as a humanitarian necessity and strategic investment in the future of affected countries. It appeals to the global community to recognize children's surgical care as both a humanitarian imperative and a strategic investment—one that stabilizes fragile regions, advances diplomatic objectives, and yields measurable returns in human capital and regional security.