Jun 15, 2026 · 28 min · 14 segments
In today's episode, I’m joined by Dr. Kemel Ghotme, a Colombian paediatric neurosurgeon who led the first neurosurgery-led resolution in the history of the World Health Organisation, a global mandate…
Kemel GhotmeGuest
Paul NewnhamHost
So for people listening who might not know what micronutrient deficiencies are, how would you explain that?
So even though someone can get a proper amount of food, the quality of that food needs to include vitamins and minerals to make every part of your body to work-
Micronutrients include vitamin B9, for instance, which is what we call folic acid or folate, and that's necessary for a baby to have a healthy development after conception.
If there is a deficiency in that micronutrient or even an insufficiency, things can go wrong and can go wrong very early.
And still nowadays, uh, vitamin A deficiency is a major cause of blindness in different places of the world, and so on and so on.
I, I think thousands of people are affected by that, and it's very easy to fix, and it's very inexpensive to fix.
The main issue is that those making decisions do not know two things: One, that this is a major public health problem, and second, that it's in their hands to take action to fix it.
And so- When it comes to neurosurgery, how does-- why does this matter? 'Cause obviously you're treating things in neurosurgery, but this seems preventative.
... or we can advocate for sophisticated ORs and, uh, having technical supplies and, uh, equipments.
They have to have a healthy start of their lives, and they, when they're grown-ups, they need to be productive, and they need to take care of their families and be a productive part of society, but they cannot do it if they're sick.
So for people listening who might not know what micronutrient deficiencies are, how would you explain that?
So even though someone can get a proper amount of food, the quality of that food needs to include vitamins and minerals to make every part of your body to work-
Micronutrients include vitamin B9, for instance, which is what we call folic acid or folate, and that's necessary for a baby to have a healthy development after conception.
If there is a deficiency in that micronutrient or even an insufficiency, things can go wrong and can go wrong very early.
And still nowadays, uh, vitamin A deficiency is a major cause of blindness in different places of the world, and so on and so on.
I, I think thousands of people are affected by that, and it's very easy to fix, and it's very inexpensive to fix.
The main issue is that those making decisions do not know two things: One, that this is a major public health problem, and second, that it's in their hands to take action to fix it.
And so- When it comes to neurosurgery, how does-- why does this matter? 'Cause obviously you're treating things in neurosurgery, but this seems preventative.
... or we can advocate for sophisticated ORs and, uh, having technical supplies and, uh, equipments.
They have to have a healthy start of their lives, and they, when they're grown-ups, they need to be productive, and they need to take care of their families and be a productive part of society, but they cannot do it if they're sick.
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