[Sent – 23 August 2019 to the 170+ surgeons et al of our Surgical Ethics (Education) Consortium]
Greetings from St. Louis and WashU. For ‘Surgical Ethics Education Resources’ communication #21, I am offering you a way to discuss the ethical challenges that come into focus when surgery is considered within a global perspective. A few days ago, Dr. Shapiro (Rutgers) forwarded to me the link to an open letter – dated 24 June 2019 -- that is addressed to the World Health Organization Director General and to the World Health Organization Office for the Eastern Mediterranean Director General. Here is the link -- https://forms.gle/Squ7FU2VNUMZyirSA
The letter advocates for pediatric and adult cancer patients in Gaza who routinely face devastating blockade barriers to accessing the nearest hospitals where they could be treated (i.e., the main specialized Palestinian hospitals in East Jerusalem). I shared the link/letter with my immediate WashU supervisors. They encouraged me to consider sending the link/letter to our Consortium/working group list serve members. I welcome your feedback and would be pleased to learn about ways you have found to be effective for probing the ethical challenges associated with global surgery.
Doug