Operation Smile

Vision

We envision a future where health and dignity are improved through safe surgery

MISSION

Through our expertise in treating cleft lip and cleft palate, we create solutions that deliver safe surgery to people where it is needed most.

Who We Are

For 16 years, Operation Smile South Africa has been a driving force in the delivery of safe cleft surgery for hundreds of patients in South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa.

We provide medical expertise, research, and care through our dedicated staff and medical and student volunteers, working alongside local governments, nonprofits, and health systems, supported by our generous donors.

Building on 40 years of cleft care experience, as we enter our organization’s next decade, we are intensely focused on ensuring access to more and safer health care, particularly in remote areas.

We have set the bold ambition to increase access to care for 1 million patients who need cleft or other essential surgeries globally.

What We Do

COMPREHENSIVE CLEFT CARE

We are committed to helping patients living with untreated cleft conditions access high-quality cleft surgery and comprehensive care. We do this either in partnership with hospitals and through our short-term surgical programmes.

VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT

As one of the largest medical volunteer-based nonprofits, globally Operation Smile has mobilized thousands of medical volunteers from a range of medical specialties. In South Africa we have 116 active volunteers who donate their time, expertise and skills to provide high-quality free cleft care in South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa, through our short-term surgical programmes

EDUCATION & TRAINING

Empowering local health professionals creates surgical solutions that last. We are strongly focused on helping to strengthen our health care systems through the training and education of local medical professionals.

PATIENT AND COMMUNITY HEALTH INITIATIVES

We focus on supporting and training local community health workers so that they can better support people with cleft conditions by helping them access comprehensive cleft care.

THE NEED FOR CLEFT CARE

Every 3 minutes, a child is born with a cleft lip or cleft palate, the world’s 4th most common birth defect.

While a cleft surgery can transform a child’s life in as little as 45 minutes, Operation Smile is committed to addressing our patients’ cleft care needs throughout their childhood and adolescence so that they can realize happier and healthier futures.

The inability to obtain surgical treatment for cleft conditions impacts lifelong health and mortality rates among children in South Africa and beyond.

Those living with cleft conditions suffer significant emotional, social and economic consequences which extend to their families and communities.

Our Global Presence

5000 Volunteers

We have a network of more than 5,000 health
professionals from over 80 countries.

12,000 SURGICAL MISSIONS

We have coordinated more than 12,000 surgical missions and performed more than 400,000 procedures.

PROFICIENCY & EXPERTISE

We have developed proficiency in creating standards of care, multidisciplinary education and training and building surgical infrastructure.

Together we strive for a world where every child can access safe surgery and comprehensive care.

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