WFSA tell SEARO Member States that strengthened anaesthesia services are vital to South East Asia’s targets of Universal Health Coverage.
WFSA NSA Statement on 8.1 Annual report on monitoring progress on UHC and health-related SDGs
The World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists (WFSA) represents over 500,000 anaesthesiologists in 140 countries, including 10 national member societies in the South-East Asian Region.
Evidence from World Health Assembly and SEARO resolutions confirms that effective anaesthesia and surgical services are essential for achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and SDG 3 targets. Yet across the SEARO region, millions still lack access to safe, timely, and affordable surgical care due to shortages of trained providers, limited infrastructure, and uneven distribution of services. Without stronger anaesthesia and surgical systems, health systems remain incomplete and progress towards UHC will stall.
Advancing UHC requires integrated emergency, critical, and operative care services within a primary health care approach. Anaesthesiologists are uniquely positioned to support this vision: they work across all three service areas and care for patients along the entire pathway, from preoperative assessment to recovery and beyond. Their expertise makes them not only vital clinicians but also essential leaders in designing and implementing effective, people-centred services.
We commend the prioritisation of integrated systems and stronger workforce planning highlighted within this report. We urge Member States to invest in anaesthesia and surgical capacity, expand opportunities for continuing education, and incorporate safe surgery and anaesthesia indicators into UHC monitoring frameworks.
WFSA and our member societies stand ready to support governments in strengthening services and leadership capacity, in alignment with WHO guidance.
Chair, safe anaesthesia and surgical care — integrated into primary health care — must be central to achieving health for all.
