Innovative Financing to Scale High-Value Anesthesia Health Services in Health Systems

Anesthesia health services are an indivisible component of high-value health systems, yet almost half of the countries worldwide do not meet the recommendation of a minimum of 4 anesthesia providers per 100,000 population. As with global health at large, financing is a major factor in the success and sustainability of global anesthesia initiatives. While traditional methods of funding global health projects, such as private donations, governmental or non-governmental funds, and academic grants, remain relevant, novel ways of financing may be necessary to develop and sustain anesthesia services in areas that need them the most.

A shift towards financing social (health) outcomes redirects investment objectives from profit-oriented practices to projects, programs, policies, and innovations capable of achieving impact in health systems at a large population-level scale. Recent events such as the COVID-19 pandemic have promoted health-focused organizations to reorient their activities towards more sustainable efforts, and innovative financing instruments are increasingly explored to improve the efficiency of health financing.

This review explores global anesthesia financing and the role of innovative financing instruments within global anesthesia. Despite important progress since the publication of the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery report in 2015, further advocacy, collaboration, and research are necessary in order to increase financing opportunities for introducing and scaling up high-value anesthesia services in health systems worldwide.