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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 comprehensive 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 36 countries supported by more than 6,000 volunteers from 60 countries.

Where We Work

Operation Smile works with local health care providers, governments and hospitals to deliver the most effective and safe surgical care to patients. We have foundations and 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 China 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.

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

Strengthening the Health Workforce

Globally, 5 billion people do not have access to essential surgical care. The lack of adequately trained surgical teams forces people to wait years for treatment. We want to alleviate this suffering by empowering local health care workers through training and education.

Nearly 80% of our medical volunteers are health care professionals from the low- and middle-income countries we serve. We're investing in strengthening health systems and partnering with universities, nonprofits and governments with one mission in mind: to increase access to safe surgical and comprehensive care.

We offer education programs across several fields, including surgery, anesthesia, nursing, biomed, pediatrics, oral health, nutrition, speech and psychosocial care. From mentorship programs and training rotations to online learning opportunities and in-person instruction, Operation Smile is committed to ensuring that more qualified and trained providers can care for more patients in more places.

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Rwanda: A New Generation of Plastic Surgeons
Rwanda

A New Generation of Plastic Surgeons

Operation Smile is committed to increasing surgical capacity in the countries we work. In Rwanda, a partnership with the University of Rwanda has helped more than double the number of plastic surgeons in the country.

Providing Patient Care

We provide direct patient care through short-term surgical and nonsurgical programs, comprehensive care centers and hospital partnerships. We work with local community leaders to create solutions that deliver the highest quality of care possible.

Short-Term Programs

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.

Planning a short-term 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 short-term surgical program ends. That’s why we operate 33 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.

Hospital Partnerships

Operation Smile partners with nearly 200 hospitals in the countries we work. These partnerships take a variety of forms, with some offering us space to conduct surgical interventions and operations, and some providing ongoing care via surgeons or care providers who are affiliated with us. These hospital partnerships provide an ongoing avenue for care for patients with cleft conditions and facilitate increased collaboration between Operation Smile staff and volunteers and high-level health care providers in the countries we work.

Make Your Gift

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Every three minutes, a child is born with a cleft condition. Your gift today will help transform lives and increase access to essential surgical care.