Southeast Asia: Where Do We Stand on the Lancet Commission a Decade in

Much of rural Southeast Asia (SEA) lacks access to timely surgical care and has a disproportionate risk of catastrophic expenditure from a lack of financial risk protection should they require surgery. The Lancet Commission on Global Surgery (LCoGS) sought to address this unmet need. There is, however, a paucity of data on the progress with regard to achieving the LCoGS goals. Our study aims to assess the availability of data in the literature on the state of progress with regard to LCoGS core indicators in rural SEA. A PubMed MEDLINE and EMBASE database search was performed on the state of access to surgical care in rural SEA in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Sixteen studies were included in the review. Only Timor-Leste had available information on all 6 core indicators. Cambodia and the Philippines had information on 2 indicators, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Laos had information on 1 indicator, Thailand, Indonesia, and Myanmar had no information on any core indicators. There is at present a paucity of information in the literature with regard to the state of progress with regard to LCoGS core indicators in rural SEA. Further work is needed to bridge this information gap in a standardized manner, in partnership with local authorities and healthcare systems, the outcome of which would form the bedrock for further intervention and progress toward achieving the LCoGS 2030 goals.