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Volunteer surgeon Dr. Tilinde Chokotho speaks with 12-year-old Belita before her surgery during Operation Smile's 2019 mission to Lilongwe, Malawi.

Global Outreach

Global Outreach

With your help, we build local capacity to provide surgery and dental care for thousands of children each year. We know that people in low-resource environments are more than capable of revolutionizing the delivery of care and creating solutions to the problems their people face. All they need are the resources to make it happen.

We currently provide world-class cleft care in more than 30 countries supported by more than 6,000 volunteers from 60 countries.

Where We Work

Operation Smile works with local health care providers, governments, hospitals to deliver the most effective and safe surgical care to patients. We have foundations and rep offices all around the world. Please contact our global headquarters and we'll connect you with the appropriate people.

Australia

Operation Smile established a presence in Australia in 1999

Explore our impact in Australia

Bolivia

Operation Smile's first surgical program in Bolivia was held in 1999

Explore our impact in Bolivia

Brazil

Operation Smile's first surgical program in Brazil was held in 1997

Explore our impact in Brazil

Canada

Operation Smile established a presence in Canada in 2011

Explore our impact in Canada

China

Operation Smile's first surgical program in Chian was held in 1991

Explore our impact in China

Colombia

Operation Smile's first surgical program in Colombia was held in 1988

Explore our impact in Colombia

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Operation Smile's first surgical program in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was held in 2009

Dominican Republic

Operation Smile's first surgical program in the Dominican Republic was held in 2009

Explore our impact in Dominican Republic

Ecuador

Operation Smile's first surgical program in Ecuador was held in 1995

Explore our impact in Ecuador

Egypt

Operation Smile's first surgical program in Egypt was held in 2006

Explore our impact in Egypt

Ethiopia

Operation Smile's first surgical program in Ethiopia was held in 2005

Explore our impact in Ethiopia

Ghana

Operation Smile's first surgical program in Ghana was held in 2011

Explore our impact in Ghana

Guatemala

Operation Smile's first surgical program in Guatemala was held in 2011

Explore our impact in Guatemala

Haiti

Operation Smile's first surgical program in Haiti was held in 2008

Honduras

Operation Smile's first surgical program in Honduras was held in 1997

Explore our impact in Honduras

India

Operation Smile's first surgical program in India was held in 2002

Explore our impact in India

Ireland

Operation Smile established a presence in Ireland in 2004

Italy

Operation Smile established a presence in Italy in 2000

Explore our impact in Italy

Jordan

Operation Smile's first surgical program in Jordan was held in 2000

Explore our impact in Jordan

Kenya

Operation Smile's first surgical program in Kenya was held in 1987

Explore our impact in Kenya

Madagascar

Operation Smile's first surgical program in Madagascar was held in 2007

Explore our impact in Madagascar

Malawi

Operation Smile's first surgical program in Malawi was held in 2012

Explore our impact in Malawi

Mexico

Operation Smile's first surgical program in Mexico was held in 2006

Explore our impact in Mexico

Morocco

Operation Smile's first surgical program in Morocco was held in 1998

Explore our impact in Morocco

Mozambique

Operation Smile's first surgical program in Mozambique was held in 2014

Explore our impact in Mozambique

Myanmar

Operation Smile's first surgical program in Myanmar was held in 2010

Norway

Operation Smile established a presence in Norway in 2023.

Panama

Operation Smile's first surgical program in Panama was held in 1991

Explore our impact in Panama

Paraguay

Operation Smile's first surgical program in Paraguay was held in 2005

Explore our impact in Paraguay

Peru

Operation Smile's first surgical program in Peru was held in 1999

Explore our impact in Peru

Philippines

Operation Smile's first surgical program in the Philippines was held in 1982

Explore our impact in Philippines

Russia

Operation Smile's first surgical program in Russia was held in 1993

Rwanda

Operation Smile's first surgical program in Rwanda was held in 2010

Explore our impact in Rwanda

South Africa

Operation Smile's first surgical program in South Africa was held in 2006

Explore our impact in South Africa

South Korea

Operation Smile established a presence in South Korea in 2012

Sweden

Operation Smile established a presence in Sweden in 2010

Explore our impact in Sweden

Switzerland

Operation Smile established a presence in Switzerland in 2015

Thailand

Operation Smile's first surgical program in Thailand was held in 1997

Explore our impact in Thailand

United Arab Emirates

Operation Smile established a presence in the United Arab Emirates in 2011

United Kingdom

Operation Smile established a presence in the United Kingdom in 2001

Explore our impact in United Kingdom

United States

Dr. Bill Magee and Kathy Magee founded Operation Smile in 1982 in Norfolk, Virginia

Explore our impact in United States

Venezuela

Operation Smile's first surgical program in Venezuela was held in 1993

Vietnam

Operation Smile's first surgical program in Vietnam was held in 1989

Explore our impact in Vietnam

International and Local Surgical Programs

Each year, we conduct more than 100 surgical programs, and every one of them is unique. In some places where we work, we supply medical equipment, and in others, we deploy specialized medical volunteers. Regardless of the location, we work with the local community to create solutions that deliver the highest quality of care possible.

Over the years, we’ve perfected the surgical program model. On an international surgical program, medical and nonmedical volunteers from around the world come together and work seamlessly to deliver exceptional care to our patients. During local surgical programs, the same quality of care is provided, but it is delivered by local health care professionals. It’s an important milestone when a foundation builds the capacity to host a surgical program on its own. Learn more about what it took for Operation Smile Ghana to reach this milestone.

Planning a surgical program can take months. Our dedicated patient coordinators execute country-wide awareness and recruitment campaigns in advance to advertise the services we provide. At the same time, our program coordinators handle the logistics required to secure the supplies and the space need to host our patients, their families and our volunteers. The program itself lasts less than two weeks and includes health screenings, speech and nutrition therapy, dental care, surgery and post-operative care. For a closer look at our surgical programs, check out at these scenes of hope and healing from PeruMozambique and India.

Year-Round Centers of Care

Our patients’ need for care doesn’t stop when a surgical program ends. That’s why we operate 27 care centers in 18 countries that provide year-round solutions for those who require more complex treatment than a single program can provide. At these centers, patients receive free services including dentistry, orthodontics, speech therapy, nutritional counseling, psychosocial care, and cleft and orthognathic surgeries from our dedicated staff and volunteers.

The Comprehensive Care We Provide

PSYCHOSOCIAL CARE: Certified psychosocial care providers help patients and families throughout the course of their treatment.

SURGERY: Timely cleft surgery is essential to a patient’s long-term health and well-being.

DENTISTRY: Dentists provide specialized procedures and create devices that improve patients’ surgical results and overall health.

ORTHODONTICS: Orthodontic care is also crucial to a patients’ healthy oral development and personal confidence.

SPEECH: Speech therapists help patients speak more clearly and teach parents feeding techniques for their babies.

NUTRITION: A cleft condition can cause malnourishment. Our nutritional support helps patients grow healthy for surgery.

Our long-term goal is to establish year-round centers in every country where we work. The multidisciplinary care we provide at our centers in Colombia and Morocco represents the standard of services we're working to make available to every patient.

Training and Education Programs

We’re proud that nearly 80% of our medical volunteers are health care professionals from the low- and middle-income countries we serve. A majority of them have received training and education from us. We’re investing in strengthening health systems and partnering with universities, nonprofits and governments with one mission in mind: Delivering safe surgery to people where it’s needed most.

Rwanda faces dire challenges when it comes to the number and skill of its health care professionals: Only two reconstructive plastic surgeons and 18 anesthesiologists serve the country of nearly 12 million people.

Globally, the need for surgical care extends far beyond cleft conditions. The lack of adequately trained surgical teams forces people to wait years for treatment. We want to alleviate this suffering in Rwanda, and in every country where we work, by empowering local health care workers through training and education.

Donate

A child is born with cleft every 3 minutes. You can give one of these children a life-saving treatment today for just $240.