This concept note aims to describe the history of global surgery, the current landscape for providing surgical care in resource-limited settings, and future directions for research, funding, and advancement of global surgery.

Learning Objectives: To further students’ and instructors’ understanding of surgery in the context of global health care delivery. This concept note supports the Cases in Global Health Delivery Collection, including Surgery at AIC Kijabe Hospital in Rural Kenya, The Indus Hospital: Delivering Free Health Care in Pakistan, Kenya’s Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision Program. 

Keywords: Global health, development of a field, surgical care delivery, history, surgery