New report highlights SURGhub’s transformative impact on surgical education in low-resource and conflict-affected regions

Monday, 30 June 2025 - Dublin, Ireland: Marking a major milestone in the fight to close the global surgical education gap - which leaves 93% of people in sub-Saharan Africa and millions more worldwide without access to safe surgical care when needed - a ground-breaking e-learning platform has brought the classroom directly to the homes and clinics of more than 19,000 healthcare workers across 190 countries in just two years.

The majority of the world’s population lacks access to safe, affordable surgical care, a crisis driven in part by a severe shortage of trained surgeons, anaesthetists, obstetricians, and nurses. This shortage is compounded by a chronic lack of accessible, affordable, and context-appropriate training resources - an educational gap that the United Nations Global Surgery Learning Hub (SURGhub) was specifically created to address.

In a new report published this week, it was revealed that the remote learning system, launched in June 2023, is not just transforming but revolutionizing how surgical, anaesthetic, obstetric, and surgical care professionals in low-resource and conflict-affected regions access high-quality training. This pioneering platform addresses a long-standing crisis that has crippled health systems for decades -bridging a gap that has long left millions without the surgical care they need. By prioritising low-bandwidth delivery, free access, and culturally relevant content, SURGhub is dismantling longstanding barriers of cost, geography, internet access, and language, demonstrating how digital tools can democratize education even in the most challenging environments.

SURGhub is a product of the global surgery community, powered by over 200 volunteers. It is an initiative of the Global Surgery Foundation (GSF) and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) supported by RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences in association with the Johnson and Johnson Foundation.

The platform now hosts over 100 educational courses, contributed by 27 international organisations, with content quality maintained by more than 200 volunteer experts. The impact is particularly visible in countries where surgical education is often out of reach. At least 1,700 learners are based in conflict-affected regions, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Ukraine, Yemen, and Palestine, with thousands more in low- and lower-middle-income countries.

For learners navigating immense challenges, the platform’s accessibility is transformative. “Where was this platform when I was a resident? When I was struggling? There was nothing to guide me then… I didn’t know where to find readings and references,” said one user, capturing the frustration of years spent searching for reliable training that simply wasn’t there.

Others describe how SURGhub has replaced the unreliable patchwork of internet searches with structured, high-quality, comprehensive courses - available anytime, anywhere. The platform’s intuitive design has been praised for making learning simple and engaging, even in settings with limited internet or power.

Looking ahead, the SURGhub team is focused on scaling this success to meet an even greater need. With more than one million healthcare professionals worldwide lacking access to adequate surgical training, the demand is enormous. Plans are already underway to expand the platform’s educational offerings—both in volume and diversity—and to introduce personalised training tailored to learners’ needs.

“This is what equitable scalability in global health looks like", said Eric O’Flynn, lead author of the report, and Programme Director of Education, Training and Advocacy in the Institute of Global Surgery, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dublin.

“SURGhub proves that with the right partnerships and the right technology, we can break down barriers that have held back surgical education for generations. Now the task is to take this further -so lifesaving teams, regardless of where they are based, have the tools they need to deliver safe surgical care.”

Dr Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka is a member of the GSF Foundation Board. She said: "With SURGhub now reaching more than 19,000 healthcare professionals in over 190 countries, we’re demonstrating how innovative, collaborative approaches can meet the critical needs in surgical education. By expanding access to high-quality training—particularly in low-resource and crisis-affected settings—we’re not only strengthening health systems but also advancing better outcomes for women, families, and communities worldwide. This is the type of scalable, impact-driven solution that global health needs more of."

Expanding content in languages beyond English is also a top priority, as is strengthening the ability to measure how training translates into real-world improvements in clinical practice and patient outcomes. But the challenge, and the opportunity, extends far beyond the platform itself. Continued investment, collaboration, and global partnerships will be critical to achieving SURGhub’s mission of transforming surgical education at scale.

ENDS