From estimated 60 million refugees, 2.78 million surgeries needed a year: Study

WASHINGTON: World's estimated 60 million refugees, displaced from their homes due to conflict, persecution or human rights violations, may need at least 2.78 million surgeries a year, a new study has found.

The findings shed light on something that few governments and humanitarian aid organisations plan for when preparing for a large influx of displaced persons who are far from home and often in countries where there are already great unmet needs for surgical procedures.

"We are facing the largest forced migration crisis since World War II," said Adam Kushner, from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in US.

"While surgery is a critical component of health care, it is often neglected in times of crisis. Without access to timely and safe surgery, many people will become disabled and many will die - outcomes that could have been prevented," Kushner said.

The types of necessary surgeries include repair of hernias and broken limbs, C-sections, cleft lips, gallbladder removals, and even stitches and burn care - any type of procedure that would be needed in any other population.

In times of war, surgeries related to trauma, violence and burns may be particularly needed.

Researchers collected data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees ( UNHCR) and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East on the number of refugees, internally displaced persons and asylum seekers around the world and on their demographics.

To estimate the number of procedures needed per year, they used a previously published research that show a minimum requirement of 4,669 annual procedures per 100,000 population.

At the end of 2014, 59.5 million people were living as forcibly displaced persons, a number that has steadily increased in recent years, according to the UNHCR.

The agency estimated that 218,000 persons entered Europe by sea in October 2015 alone, many of whom were seeking refuge from the violence in Syria.

While up to five per cent of the population at large will require surgery, the World Health Organisation estimates that as many as 15 per cent of pregnant women will experience obstetric complications requiring surgery for conditions such as protracted labour, pre-eclampsia or ectopic pregnancy.

The prevalence of pregnancy among displaced women of reproductive age is between six and 14 per cent. Paediatric needs are also very high, Kushner said.

While many refugees live in camp settlements, more than half live in established communities, yet they are typically precluded from accessing essential surgery due to a lack of proper documentation, high costs or weak surgical infrastructure in their host country.

The study was published in the World Journal of Surgery.