Building towards equitable access to safe surgery for every child

Kids Operating Room (KidsOR) is a global health charity focused entirely on helping transform surgical care for children around the world. KidsOR corroborates and puts into practice the argument of the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery that surgical care is a valuable investment and should be incorporated as an essential component of a functioning health care system. Moreover, by investing in local capacities, we distance ourselves from the status quo of international health aid, more specifically short-term medical missions and specific disease interventions. Our focus is to integrate the capabilities inherent to the country in the development of human resources that fosters greater local empowerment. As a result, despite the challenges of the time, we have shipped a pristine Operating Room to a partner hospital on average once every 12 days. Our strategy also includes a funding programme that supports the development and training of local surgeons and anaesthetists. By 2030 we have committed to open 120 new Operating Rooms in Africa, and we expect to achieve 1.2 million years averted of Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) for every year of full activity in our Operating Rooms as well as to strengthen the economies across sub-Saharan Africa economies by a combined total of 2.5 billion US dollars a year. We also look to the future and advocate for a new aid model for the 21st century in consonance with the principles encouraged by the 1978 Alma Ata Declaration and aiming to make health for all more than a slogan. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: : IV.