Transforming lives by setting up kids’ operating rooms and training paediatric surgeons in low and middle income countries. Garreth Wood, Chair of KidsOR, talks about need, solutions + economic impact

Transforming lives by setting up kids’ operating rooms and training paediatric surgeons in low and middle income countries. Garreth Wood, Chair of KidsOR, talks about need, solutions + economic impact.

KidsOR is operating in 20 countries; they’re focused on building centres of excellence for children's surgery; dramatically increasing capacity and access for safe surgery; and they’re doing it in government hospitals, creating safe spaces and the right tools. They are training a local healthcare workforce so they can care for their own nation’s children.

Beyond the moral imperative to support children, there’s a strong economic argument as well: Countries face a staggering difference in economic benefit between a child who spends their entire life living with a disability versus a child who’s able to contribute fully to the country as they grow up. 

In this conversation we explore a range of relevant issues, from the need to train paediatric surgeons, biomedical engineers and the local healthcare workforce, to scaling up internationally and collaborating with governments and ministries of health.

Thank you for downloading this episode of The Do One Better Podcast. For information on more than 150 interviews with remarkable thought leaders in philanthropy, sustainability and social entrepreneurship visit our website at Lidji.org