The RACS Foundation for Surgery supports an array of programs and projects that provide surgical access and enhance surgical outcomes to benefit patients. These activities are undertaken in 16 developing countries in the Indo-Pacific region, throughout Indigenous and Māori communities in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, including rural and remote areas in both countries through education and surgical research.

The Foundation for Surgery has launched its Spring 2023 campaign to raise funds to support initiatives that address critical surgical need in disadvantaged communities—improving health equity and supporting research and training.

In 2022, donations raised through the Foundation for Surgery enabled—among other activities—the following:

• In Fiji, the Cook Islands and Naura, 42 surgical procedures were delivered over three clinical visiting medical teams’ deployments.
• Surgical simulation training project Pacific Island Virtual Online Training Simulation (PIVOTS) was piloted in partnership with the Monash Children’s Simulation Centre and Fiji National University.
• Directors of Clinical Services (DSC) and Pacific Heads of Nursing and Midwifery (PHONM) attended meetings and presentations in Fiji.
• Two refurbished Zeiss microscopes were donated to Baucau and Maliana Hospital (Timor-Leste).
• Indigenous Health Committee Hui was attended by Australian First Nations and Māori delegates who workshopped content, program proposals and Indigenous health strategies derived from learnings of the past and present. Information from the hui will be used to plan future changes required to build the Indigenous surgical workforce and address Indigenous health inequities.
• Scholarships and grants software was improved for the application process for applicants, reviewers and administrative staff.
• Baseline report conducted for the Paediatric Critical Care Capacity Building project in PNG and Timor-Leste.

Your generosity has had a profound impact on providing quality surgical care for the communities that do not have access to adequate health infrastructure. Your continued support will enable this important and invaluable work to continue.

By donating, you will be actively supporting the positive changes the Foundation for Surgery is working continuously towards. Our projects are committed to achieving a healthier future for all.

Thanks to your support, we have delivered, and will continue to deliver, critical services and training to some of the Asia Pacific region’s most disadvantaged communities; to support the career development of aspiring Indigenous surgeons; and to fund ground-breaking research to improve early detection, treatment, and recovery for some of the greatest health challenges of our time.

You can donate here: www.surgeons.org/Foundation-for-Surgery or by clicking on Donate on the top tab of the RACS website.