The Boston Declaration 2025: Plan and Pledges for Progress in Global Neurosurgery.

Area of Science:

• Global health
• Neurosurgery
• Public health

Background:

• Global neurosurgery focuses on delivering timely, safe, and affordable neurosurgical care.
• Decades of mission trips and collaborations have occurred without central harmonization.
• The 2016 Bogotà Declaration was a landmark meeting to address global neurosurgery gaps.

Purpose of the Study:

• To define a unified vision for the advancement of global neurosurgery.
• To address the persistent gaps in access to safe, timely, and affordable neurosurgical care.
• To shift agency towards low- and middle-income countries in global neurosurgery discourse and development.

Main Methods:

• Reviewing existing evidence on global neurosurgery.
• Incorporating on-the-ground expert experience from practitioners.
• Ensuring broad inclusivity and transparency in the initiative.

Main Results:

• Significant growth in interest and academic recognition of global neurosurgery.
• Persistent disparities in access to essential neurosurgical care remain.
• High-income countries currently dominate the discourse in global neurosurgery.

Conclusions:

• The Boston Declaration aims to establish new goals and an action plan for global neurosurgery.
• A shift in agency towards low- and middle-income countries is crucial for equitable progress.
• The 2025 Boston Declaration will propose a new consensus statement and strategic framework.