Since 2006, Operation Smile has delivered over 6,420 top-quality surgeries and carried out more than 60 surgical programs.
But there is more to do.
During Fiscal Year July 2025-June 2026, Operation Smile will invest $383,000 to provide top-quality surgical care for over 690 patients and train approximately 410 health workers.
In the next five years, Operation Smile will perform surgeries for approximately 4,400 patients and deliver comprehensive cleft care consultations to over 8,300 patients.
Cleft Care Programs
Operation Smile will provide high-quality surgical care for over 690 patients. We will expand comprehensive cleft care by delivering consultations in oral health (∼360 patients), speech therapy (∼130 patients), nutrition (∼270 patients) and psychosocial care (∼130 patients).
Education Programs
Investing in medical education strengthens health systems and creates positive health outcomes for children living with cleft conditions. This year, Operation Smile aims to train over 400 medical providers in Mexico in the fields of cleft surgery, anesthesia, pediatrics, nursing, biomedical technology, speech and oral health. In collaboration with the American Heart Association, we will deliver Basic Life Support courses. Partnerships with three universities will expand training opportunities in oral health, nutrition and biomedical technology.
Operation 100, our bold strategy to bring essential surgical care closer to patients’ homes, will impact Mexico this year as we equip a cleft operative team at Hospital Infantil de las Californias in Tijuana with advanced skills, essential equipment and enhanced health care infrastructure.
THE NEED
Patient backlog. In Mexico, there is a backlog of approximately 6,000 patients requiring comprehensive cleft care.
Strained health system. With government spending just 5.4% of its gross domestic product on health, the country’s underfunded health system leaves behind many children born with cleft lip and cleft palate. While Mexico has well-renowned education institutions, there is a lack of formal training or education programs for cleft care. A study revealed that 48% of the population does not have effective access to health services.
Barriers to care in rural areas. 55% of patients arriving at Operation Smile programs do not have a hospital within two hours of their home. Only 3.3% of hospitals are located in rural localities, which puts children living with cleft conditions at an even greater risk. Most providers work in urban centers, leaving people in rural areas without adequate care.
Limited surgical capacity. The health workforce shortage contributes to the lack of access to care. Compared to high-income countries, which have an average of 11.4 nurses and midwives per 1,000 people, Mexico faces a shortage, with just 3 nurses and midwives per 1,000 individuals. As a result, many communities experience delays in treatment, lower quality of care and higher rates of preventable mortality.
Barriers to education and employment. Untreated cleft conditions can create lifelong barriers for patients. 58% of patients arriving at Operation Smile programs in Mexico said that their condition limited their school attendance, while 25% said that their school performance was impacted. Our survey also found that 74% of caretakers stay home with their child if the child has a cleft condition.
Financial barriers. 95% of patients arriving at Operation Smile programs live below the poverty line and 44% have no health insurance. Operation Smile’s survey revealed that 61% of patients arriving at Operation Smile programs in Mexico could not have undergone surgery without the support of Operation Smile.
BRINGING CARE CLOSER TO HOME
To ensure that every child has access to care close to home, we equip the providers within our patients’ communities with skills and resources to deliver high-quality care. We strengthen health system capacity by harnessing the talent and resources concentrated in larger cities, the hubs, to train providers in under-resourced areas, the spokes, where access to care is most limited.
Operation Smile has a hub at Innovare Hospital in Guadalajara.
We have spokes at W Health Center in Mexico City and Hospital Infantil de las Californias in Tijuana.
We also have six hospital partners in Chiapas, Monterrey, Puebla, Merida, Guadalajara and Mexico City.
FIVE-YEAR VISION
Over the next five years, Operation Smile will expand high-quality comprehensive care for patients living with cleft lip and cleft palate. Operation Smile projects to provide surgeries for approximately 4,400 patients and comprehensive cleft care consultations to over 6,000 patients.
Operation 100, our bold strategy to bring essential surgical care closer to patients’ homes, will impact Mexico as we equip a cleft operative team at Fundacion Contreras in Oaxaca with advanced skills, essential equipment and enhanced health care infrastructure over the next five years.
