The role of NGOs, academic institutions, professional associations, and other non-state actors in supporting the NSOAP process

Following both the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery and the World Health Assembly Resolution 68.15 in 2015, world leaders in surgery, obstetrics .. Read more and anesthesia came together to produce a comprehensive planning methodology for governments to use to increase capacity in safe surgical, obstetrical and anesthesia care. The National Surgical Obstetric Anesthesia Planning (NSOAP) process offers ministries of health a pathway to integrate surgical planning into their overall national health strategies using a systematic and logical approach. With more than 50 contributors from various sectors of global health, the NSOAP Manual provides a framework for the development of plans and policies to improve the provision of  safe surgery, obstetric and anesthesia care at a national level. The NSOAP Manual was published as a collaborative initiative between the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), the Harvard Medical School Program in Global Surgery and Social Change, and the Global Surgery Foundation. It was officially launched on 28 September 2020 as part of a special Online Educational Series with the generous support of Johnson & Johnson. Explain the importance of the NSOAP process to meeting the goals of the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery and WHA Resolution 68.15. List the practical applications of the NSOAP process in assisting countries with their efforts to increase access to safe surgical obstetrics and anesthesia care.