Operation Smile has been working in Morocco since 1999 to deliver top-quality care to children born with cleft lip and cleft palate. Since then, Operation Smile has provided over 13,760 patients with cleft surgery.
But there is more to do.
In Fiscal Year July 2025-June 2026, Operation Smile will invest $1.2 million to provide top-quality surgery for more than 460 patients and train over 610 medical providers.
In the next five years, we plan to deliver surgery to over 6,800 patients and comprehensive care to approximately 18,000 patients.
Cleft Care Programs
Over the course of the fiscal year, Operation Smile will deliver surgical care for over 460 patients. We will also provide consultations in oral health for 7,050 patients, speech care for 390 patients, nutrition for 510 patients and psychosocial care for 240 patients.
Education Programs
Operation Smile will provide training for over 610 health workers. By expanding training opportunities through medical programs, workshops, conferences and training sessions at our Care Centers, Operation Smile will strengthen the skills of local providers. We will deliver specialized training in cleft surgery, biomedical engineering, nursing and orthodontics. Health workers will also gain crucial skills in using Nasoalveolar Molding (NAM), feeding and molding orthoses and obturators. In collaboration with the American Heart Association, health workers will receive courses in Basic Life Support. To further strengthen local capacity, we offer training on electronic health record systems and patient intake tools.
THE NEED
One in 700 births. In Morocco, one in 700 children are born with a cleft condition. Children with cleft conditions face many challenges in their daily lives. 22% of patients arriving at Operation Smile programs in Morocco said that their school performance was impacted by their condition.
Shortage of providers and hospitals. In Morocco, 23% of patients arriving at Operation Smile programs do not live within two hours of a hospital, creating challenges when medical attention is needed. The Lancet Commission proposed that at least 80% of the population should live within two hours of a hospital. The Lancet Commission proposed that, to meet populations’ needs, countries should have 20 specialist surgical workers per 100,000 people. Morocco faces a critical shortage of medical providers, with just four specialist surgical workers per 100,000 people. Given the limited number of health workers, only 756 surgical procedures are provided per 100,000 people, which falls short of the target set by Lancet Commission on Global Surgery, which recommends that countries provide 5,000 procedures per 100,000 people.
Financial barriers. Despite significant progress towards the goal of universal health care, 52% of our patients remain uncovered by medical insurance, which leaves many children born with cleft conditions without support or treatment. With 58% of patients arriving at Operation Smile programs living below the poverty line, out-of-pocket fees for procedures create an additional barrier for families seeking care. Operation Smile’s survey revealed that 79% of patients arriving at Operation Smile programs in Morocco 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 closeto 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.
In Morocco, Bouafi Hospital located in Casablanca serves as a hub, providing care for patients in the country’s most populous region.
The spokes at El Hassani Hospital in Nador, the Children’s Hospital in Rabat, Hôpital Al Antaki and Clinic Grand Atlas in Marrakech, Hôpital El Farabi and CHU Hospital in Oujda and CHP Hospital Regional in Ben Mellal are supported by the hub in Casablanca.
Operation Smile is currently building a Care Center in Marrakesh that will be completed by 2028.
FIVE-YEAR VISION
In the next five years, Operation Smile will deliver high-quality surgery to more than 6,800 patients. We will provide consultations to approximately 18,000 patients, expanding access to comprehensive cleft care services in Morocco.
To enhance surgical capacity, we will continue to invest in the Bouafi Hospital in Casablanca, the Children’s Hospital of Rabat and other hospitals that provide cleft care.
Operation 100, our bold strategy to bring essential surgical care closer to patients’ homes, will impact Morocco as we equip a cleft operative team at Bouafi Hospital in Casablanca with advanced skills, essential equipment and enhanced health care infrastructure over the next five years.
