Professor Sandro Contini is a General, Vascular and Gastrointestinal Surgeon, former Professor of Surgery at the University of Parma, Italy. He worked for more than one year as Research Fellow at the Liver Unit of the King's College Hospital, London and at the Department of Surgery of the New Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge (UK). In 2008 he was Temporary Advisor at the World Health Organization (HQ) due to his involvement in the Global Initiative for Emergency and Essential Surgical Care (GIEESC). He retired from the University in 2010 but since 2004 he is occupied in humanitarian missions as surgeon in low-income countries and conflict areas, mainly working with the Italian NGO Emergency, with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and with Doctors without Borders. According to this, he developed a profound interest in the field of Global Surgery and delivery of essential surgical care, especially in severe settings.