How Should Ongoing Surgical Care Needs be Met During Global Health Engagements?

The Department of Defense has a long history of Global Health Engagement, beginning with identifying and developing vaccines for yellow fever, influenzae, and malaria. Contemporary examples of global health engagement include the worldwide deployment of military assets to aid in natural disasters, and deployment of ship and land based medical teams for short-term medical and surgical engagements. In 2017, the Department of Defense Instruction on Global Health Engagement was published to help guide these efforts. Surgery is an indispensable part of global health and presents unique ethical challenges.