Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

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Not AvailablePresently, one of the major global challenges is to ensure food security to the ever-growing population whilst ensuring the sustainable development. According to FAO, 70% increase in food production is needed to make the food available to the world population which will reach 9 billion by 2050. Huge amounts of food are lost every year worldwide due post-harvest damages caused due to physical factors (mechanical injuries), physiological factors (Wilting, shriveling, chilling injury) or some pathological factor(decay due to fungi or bacteria). These causes in many instances are interrelated i.e. mechanical injury may promote the chances of post-harvest decay in most of the cases. Post-harvest losses are approximately 20-50% in developing countries and 10-15% in developed countries. Vegetables are the most important supplement to human diet as they provide the essential minerals, vitamins and fibre required for a balanced diet. India’s climatic and soil condition provide an excellent platform for the cultivation of a wider variety of vegetables.ICAR sponsored 21 days summer schoo