Canadian Network for International Surgery: development activities and strategies

The Canadian Network for International Surgery (CNIS) is a surgical development and research organization, whose objective is to reduce death and disability from surgical disorders in low income countries. The organization has 4 main activities: (1) the Essential Surgical Skills (ESS) program teaches surgery to general practitioners and is predicated on the assumption that there will not be enough surgeons in Africa in the foreseeable future and therefore nonsurgeons must do surgery; (2) the injury control program, which is predicated on the conclusion that the incidence of injury in Africa is unacceptably high, therefore injury prevention is an imperative surgical strategy; (3) the library project, which sends new and recent books and journals to the surgical libraries of our African partners; and (4) the members' projects, which encourage individual or organization members to use their own creativity in meeting CNIS objectives. The CNIS has direct activity in 4 African countries and presents its project check list as a means to help others succeed. Canadian surgical and allied specialists can help in the reduction of needless suffering by supporting the CNIS.