South African Framework Adds Environmental Sustainability to Paediatric Surgery Training

South African clinicians have published a training framework that brings environmental sustainability into paediatric surgical education. It targets resource constrained hospitals where surgical waste and single use plastics are rising even though budgets are tight. The framework uses UNESCO education pillars and real cases like gastroschisis to connect clinical decisions, waste, and ecological health. Healthcare generates about five percent of global emissions, and surgical theatres account for a large share of hospital waste. The authors argue trainees need structured teaching on material use, reprocessing limits, and climate related infection risks. They also point to practical steps already in place at Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, including solar arrays, LED lighting, and water conservation. For carbon and climate readers, the value is in the model: embedding sustainability into medical curricula rather than treating it as a separate initiative. It also raises a harder policy question about single use device reprocessing and the data gaps in low income health systems.