Global Health

Group of clinicians in an operating room, all face the camera

Group of people in a hospital office, opening supplies

Group of people in a classroom, all face the camera

Our Mission

Our mission is to expand access to safe, high-quality anesthesia and surgical care worldwide through sustainable partnerships, education of future global health leaders, advancement in research, and local capacity building. Through collaboration with international NGOs and established Columbia University institutional programs, we support workforce development, strengthen sustainable systems of care, and advocate for anesthesia as an essential component of global health equity.

Our Commitment to Global Health Equity

Overview of department’s commitment to global health equity and partnerships.

History and Milestones

Brief history and key milestones in global health efforts.

1990s

Early 1990s – Heart Care International begins cardiac surgery and anesthesia missions in Guatemala, later expanding to El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Peru, and Chiapas, Mexico, with Columbia University Medical Center involvement.
1992 – First medical mission with Healing the Children (NE Chapter) in Escuintla, Guatemala.

2000–2008

2004–2022 – Ongoing engagement with Smile Train through its Medical Advisory Board and cleft lip/palate surgical trips in multiple countries.
2007 – Start of Hands Help anesthesia missions in San Pedro Sula, Honduras; Pediatric work in Pereira, Colombia with Changing Children’s Lives, Inc. & Smile Train; missions in Cochabamba, Bolivia (House of Charity, Smile Train).
2007–2012 – Continued Hands Help missions to San Pedro Sula, Honduras (annual).
2008 – Pediatric physical exams at Rift Valley Children’s Village, Karatu, Tanzania; additional anesthesia work in Cochabamba, Bolivia.

2009–2014

2009 – Kybele mission to Accra, Ghana (training and QA/audit for obstetric anesthesia); missions with Changing Children’s Lives & Smile Train in Udon Thani and Nha Trang, Vietnam, and San Pedro Sula, Honduras.
2010 – Missions to Cao Lan, Vietnam and San Pedro Sula, Honduras with Changing Children’s Lives & Hands Help.
2011 – Surgical Volunteers International & Smile Train work in Cairo, Egypt and Fermathe, Haiti; Hands Help mission in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.
2012 – Surgical Volunteers International & Smile Train mission in Fermathe, Haiti and Perintin, Brazil; Hands Help mission in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.
2013 – Smile Bangladesh mission providing cleft surgery anesthesia in Bangladesh; Surgical Volunteers International & Smile Train mission in Cap Haitien, Haiti and Perintin, Brazil.
2014 – Changing Children’s Lives & Smile Train mission in Mbale, Uganda.

2015–2020

2016 – Fogarty Fellowship for ICU capacity building in Lilongwe, Malawi.
2017 – Changing Children’s Lives & Smile Train mission in Kampala, Uganda.
2018 – Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF/Doctors Without Borders) posting in Aweil, South Sudan at an MSF‑run maternity and pediatric hospital.
2019 – Neuroscience education for Tibetan Buddhist monks in Bylakuppe, India through the Emory Tibet Science Initiative.
2020 – ASA Overseas Teaching Program in Georgetown, Guyana, combining teaching with clinical care in a residency program.

2021–present

2022 – 2025 – Annual two‑week engagements with the International Organization for Women and Development (IOWD) in Kigali, Rwanda, providing anesthesia for obstetric fistula and related childbirth injury repairs.
2022 – present – Birth of the Foundation for the Localization and Innovation of Global Health Technologies (F.L.I.G.H.T.), an NGO that aims to facilitate redistribution of health care resources to address scarcity in low- middle- income-settings.
2024-2025 –partnership with Huế University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Huế, Vietnam involving obstetric anesthesia simulation curriculum. Ongoing partnership allows additional projects to be completed.
Ongoing (various years) – Repeated collaborations with organizations such as Healing the Children, Children of China Pediatric Foundation, Mercy Ships/Operation Smile, Surgical Volunteers International, Palestine Children’s Relief Organization, Amazon Outreach, Operation International, Ecuadent, and Remote Area Medical USA, reflecting sustained global and domestic outreach.