Gaps in physical access to emergency care in sub-Saharan Africa

Emergency care encompasses the urgent stabilisation, diagnosis, and treatment of acute medical, surgical, and obstetrical conditions.1 In low-income and middle-income countries, where substantial barriers to care exist, emergency care is often the primary access point to the health system;2 however, emergency care systems remain underdeveloped in these countries. The Disease Control Priorities Project estimates more than half of all deaths and about a third of all disability-adjusted life-years in low-income and middle-income countries could be addressed through prehospital and facility-based emergency care systems.