Global Neurosurgery Research Committee: Mini Strategic Plan

Abstract

Most of the world’s population resides in developing countries. Lower- and middle-income countries (LMICs)
shoulder a high burden of both communicable and non-communicable diseases1. Neurological disorders are the
leading cause of disability and account for the second-highest number of global deaths2. In addition, over five
million patients with conditions treatable by neurosurgery do not have access to it; the populations most at risk
are in Africa and Southeast Asia due to the workforce imbalance 3,4. This may be one factor that has resulted in
minimal neurosurgical research output from LMICs, despite the heterogeneous pathologies and large patient
numbers seen daily by neurosurgeons. Only 4.5% of papers published in high-impact neurosurgical journals
have an LMIC affiliation5. The underrepresentation of scientific literature from LMIC is a significant obstacle
that negatively impacts global neurosurgery. As equity in the provision of neurosurgical care is at the centre of
our discipline, it is essential that neurosurgical research capacity is developed globally. This stems from a
position that the provision of high-quality care relies on the conduct of high-quality research.