Critical care in Africa: A surgical intensivist perspective

Abstract

Critical care services often fall far outside the focus of mainstream health care agendas. The disease specific list held by many health care stakeholders, including the funding agencies, results in a funneling of political attention and funds predominantly in those directions. Infectious diseases, in particular tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, are on the fore front of the global public health agendas and rightfully, will remain high on the list for the foreseeable future¹. Childhood infectious diseases also represent disease-specific agendas that are a main target of donor funding because of the potential for intervening successfully and the potential of life saved ^2,3. The lure of eradication of a disease with a heavy burden on the health of the population as exampled by the Polio campaigns and programs to eradicate guinea worm easily capture the attention of governments and society alike. As a result, crucial life-saving hospital services such as critical care are often overlooked.