The world’s largest Cleft organization, Smile Train has called for more collaboration to increase quality cleft care in Francophone countries across Africa.
Speaking during the inaugural three-day Francophone Cleft Congress held in Rabat, Morocco, Smile Train’s President, and CEO, Susannah Schaefer, revealed how the lack of access to safe and timely cleft surgery, and comprehensive cleft care affected many patients in underserved communities.
She urged attendees to leverage the conference as an opportunity to share knowledge and identify ways to advance quality care in their local community.
She said “Across Africa, we are seeing a greater demand for innovation, and empirical data continues to inform our programs. We are always seeking opportunities for collaboration with governments, institutions, and partners to invest in surgical care, capacity building, and research. I encourage us to continue to use our influence to build sustainable Comprehensive Cleft Care that will meet our patient’s needs and help them fulfill their potential”.
Hon. Minister for Health and Social Protection, Kingdom of Morocco, Khalid Ait Taleb lauded the investments in quality surgical care for children.
“We welcome collaborations with Smile Train and development partners who are invested in ensuring that children receive free, safe, and quality surgical care,” she said.
The Chairman of Smile Train’s Global Medical Advisory Board, Dr. Larry Hollier underscored the return on investment in providing safer surgery.
He advised that more innovation and research that will advance the standards of surgical service delivery should reach vulnerable groups.
“Francophone Africa is a diverse multicultural territory with a population of over 264 million people spread across 23 French-speaking countries. There hasn’t been much attention to a regional approach to cleft care significantly due primarily to the language barrier. We also noted that for every $250 spent on treating one patient with a cleft, it plowed back as much as $50,000 to the economy. This gives us greater conviction in the investment in safe and timely cleft surgery”.
About 13,150 babies are born with cleft annually in Francophone African countries. To date, Smile Train has successfully treated over 31,000 cases of cleft and there is still a huge backlog of patients with unrepaired clefts.
Smile Train also promised to continue to invest in research, as this is being done through in-person workshops, online sessions, and mentorship leading to the creation of cleft-related research work to inform policy in the region.
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