摘要：“I was thinking that I was already dead... now I can talk withyou people, I’m so happy!” These words, spoken quietly butwith great warmth by a young woman devastated by a vesicovaginalfistula and restored to dignity through compassionateoperative treatment, cut cleanly through divides ofgeography, culture, and class. More eloquently than anystatistic she speaks of the life–changing and life–saving importanceof surgical services in all health care systems. Thewoman’s testimony features in Jaymie Ang Henry’s film,‘The Right to Heal’ [1], a deeply moving piece of advocacythat makes a clear case for focusing far greater global attentionon the huge need to achieve more equitable access toessential surgery. This is the case we take up here, with aparticular focus on the needs of sub–Saharan Africa.
