The Ghana Surgical Dialogue: A Whole‐of‐Society Innovation for Advancing Safe Surgery, Obstetric, Trauma, and Anesthesia Care in Ghana
Irene Devine Dzirasa, Afua Hesse, John Nkrumah Mills, Ruth Ansah Akrofi, Kalkidan Abebe Hirpe, Lucile Arthaud, Peter Titiati, Ernest Agyei‐Tuffour, Richard Selormey, Ruben AyalaABSTRACT
Ghana continues to face major gaps in access to safe surgery, obstetric, trauma, and anesthesia (SOTA) care, especially at district level, where workforce shortages, infrastructure deficits, weak referral systems, and limited data constrain service delivery. To support implementation of the Ghana National Surgical, Obstetric and Anesthesia Plan (NSOAP) 2025–2029, the Ministry of Health convened the inaugural Ghana Surgical Dialogue in Koforidua in August 2025. The Dialogue brought together government, professional associations, clinicians, nurses, biomedical engineers, laboratory professionals, health managers, financiers, civil society, and international partners to identify practical solutions for strengthening SOTA care. Key innovations included alignment of SOTA priorities with national budgeting, exploration of public–private partnership models such as build‐operate‐transfer schemes, investment in district‐level mentorship and telemedicine, improved surgical safety and audit culture, and development of biomedical equipment management systems. Participants also emphasized workforce retention, career progression for anesthetists and perioperative nurses, ring‐fenced funding, interoperable data systems, and stronger referral networks. The Dialogue demonstrated that sustainable progress in surgical care requires a whole‐of‐society approach that combines policy, financing, workforce development, technology, and accountability. This report highlights implementation lessons from Ghana that may be useful to other countries seeking to translate surgical plans into action.