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Global surgery

Despite ongoing and significant advancements in surgery that have allowed patients to recover faster and live fuller lives, people in low-income countries often do not have the same access to safe and affordable surgical care. This lack of access can transform otherwise treatable conditions and injuries into physically debilitating and economically devastating health threats.
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Johnson & Johnson is working to address this inequity by transforming surgical care for the world’s most vulnerable people and communities. Bringing together the Global Public Health team at Johnson & Johnson and Johnson & Johnson MedTech, we are applying our world-class expertise, innovation, capabilities and convening power to address two key unmet needs in global surgery: trauma management and maternal care.


By advancing innovation to develop and deliver approaches, products and procedures designed specifically for use in resource-limited settings – at every step from the lab to the last mile of health delivery – we are committed to expanding access to quality surgical care in operation rooms around the world and enabling everyone, everywhere to live healthier lives.
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New Global Surgery initiative aims to improve access to quality surgical care in resource-limited settings

At the 75th World Health Assembly, Johnson & Johnson (the Company) announced a new Global Surgery initiative aimed at supporting broader access to surgical treatments for people living in low- and middle-income countries, beginning in Kenya and Malawi.

Our focus areas

Low-income countries are home to more than a third of the world’s population, but only 6 percent of surgeries take place in these countries. Johnson & Johnson is focused on unlocking innovation from across the surgical care ecosystem to elevate the standards of care for long bone fracture and obstetric fistula.

Long bone fracture

Long bone fractures, which are cracks or breaks in the tibia or another long bone, can result in long-term disability – yet more than 70 percent of patients do not have access to the proper care to repair these injuries. We are piloting a program in Malawi to address the unmet need for trauma care by helping to train surgeons with novel tools and techniques and strengthening supply chains to ensure sustainable access to care for people in need.

Obstetric fistula

Obstetric fistula, a serious but preventable childbirth injury, affects between 50,000 and 100,000 women globally each year, and approximately 500,000 women in Africa and Asia needlessly suffer from untreated fistula. Our pilot program in Kenya is focused on strengthening the capacity of health workers and increasing access to safe obstetric fistula surgical treatment that has been customized to treat women in resource-limited settings, with the aim of fulfilling the Company’s Health for Humanity goal of reaching 10,000 women with obstetric fistula by 2025.

Our lab to last mile approach

Johnson & Johnson’s Global Surgery program builds on the expertise and legacy of the Johnson & Johnson MedTech, which has worked for over a century to revolutionize surgical systems and instruments for a range of medical conditions.
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The program will further drive impact by strengthening surgical programs and training, streamlining supply chains, reducing costs and equipping surgeons with the latest technologies, tailored to better meet the needs of undeserved communities. By collaborating with local organizations, the initiative is leveraging the best-in-class training capabilities of Johnson & Johnson to support local surgeons implementing new tools and standards of care. This lab-to-last-mile approach builds on the remarkable progress Johnson & Johnson has made to tackle some of the world’s greatest healthcare challenges, including HIV, tuberculosis, Ebola, and most recently, COVID-19.
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