Operation Smile Colombia has delivered more than 25,650 high-quality surgeries for patients with cleft conditions, helping them to better breathe, eat, speak and enjoy lives of greater quality and confidence.
Our volunteers in Colombia provide cleft care for patients at Operation Smile Care Centres and surgical programs across the country.
Operation Smile provides care for patients in La Guajira, where many Venezuelan migrants have settled.
THE NEED
One in 800 children are born with a cleft condition. According to Operation Smile’s estimates, there are between 45,000 and 65,000 people affected by cleft conditions, and most of them have not received comprehensive care.
Unequal distribution of providers. Since most plastic surgeons work in the main urban centers, patients living outside of the bigger cities have limited access to specialized care.
Shortage of health workforce for cleft-affected patients. Colombia has 13.7 surgical workers per 100,000 people. This falls below the Lancet Commission’s minimum target of 20 providers. Despite Colombia’s booming cosmetic surgery industry, few plastic surgeons specialize in cleft and reconstructive surgery.
Operation Smile estimates that there are about 45 surgeons who are trained and proficient in cleft care provision, not enough to support the needs of the cleft population.
OUR FORMULA FOR TRANSFORMATION
Operation Smile’s formula for transformational impact combines care delivery and capacity-building.
Education programs are at the center of Operation Smile’s strategy to increase access to surgery closer to the patient’s home.
Each surgical program brings together providers from all over the world for a unique opportunity to share knowledge and innovate. This type of bi-directional learning is essential to redistributing knowledge between providers and building capacity in the areas of greatest need.
Our work in health infrastructure addresses structural barriers to care and helps build robust health systems. Operation Smile’s research & innovation efforts inform all aspects of our decision-making and allow us to have a comprehensive understanding of the impact our programs have on patients.
HUBS & SPOKES
To ensure that every child has access to care closer to home, we equip the providers within our patients’ communities with skills and resources to deliver high-quality care.
In Colombia, we leverage the workforce, expertise and resources from Bogota, the hub, where there is greater access to specialized care and advanced training. This allows us to provide quality care in Cali and Cartagena, the spokes and partner hospitals.
We provide care to vulnerable patients as a part of our Transcending Borders initiative in La Guajira.
To increase access to care across the country, Operation Smile conducts surgical programs in nine regions across Colombia. We have approximately 15 hospital-based partners in our network of care.
During Fiscal Year July 2024-June 2025, Operation Smile Canada has committed to invest $1,276,501 CAD, accounting for 53% of Colombia’s total projected budget for the fiscal year, which will directly contribute to providing high-quality surgery and care for 635 patients and deliver training to 285 medical providers.
Cleft Care Programs
We will provide surgical care for 635 patients, targeting Bogota, La Guajira and other regions across Colombia. We will expand comprehensive cleft care services by providing consultations in oral health (~1,100 patients), nutrition (480 patients), psychosocial care (~4,170 patients) and speech therapy (~3,600 patients).
Education
Over the course of the following year, Operation Smile plans to provide education and training for 285 medical providers. At least six hospitals will receive training to strengthen the local healthcare workforce, including comprehensive cleft care training for primary care providers. We will deliver hands-on training to plastic surgeons and provide American Heart Association (AHA) training courses for anesthesiologists, pediatricians, nurses and oral health specialists. In addition, anesthesiologists will receive Safe Surgery training in comprehensive care delivery. We will work to strengthen our network of more than 250 volunteers. Working in collaboration with our university partners, we will increase capacity for internships and exchanges.
FIVE-YEAR VISION
Over the next five years, Operation Smile Colombia will provide surgeries for an estimated 3,420 patients. To address the unequal access to cleft surgery and care, Operation Smile will expand its education programs and provide hands-on specialty-specific training opportunities for health professionals at our hospital partners.
