Vietnam

Operation Smile has been working in Vietnam since 1989, providing high-quality care for children born with cleft conditions.

Visit Operation Smile Vietnam’s Website

Operation Smile Vietnam: By the Numbers

In Vietnam, children affected by cleft conditions receive access to safe surgery and multidisciplinary support.

1989

Year Services Began in Vietnam

75,000+

Patients Treated

1 in 750

Children Born with a Cleft Condition

Expanding Access to Care

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 build the needed capacity by harnessing the talent and resources that exist within the country, usually in the bigger cities, the hubs, to train providers in under-resourced areas, the spokes, where most patients lack access to care.

In Vietnam, our hubs are located in Ho Chi Minh City at the National Hospital of Odonto-Stomatology and in Hanoi at the Vietnam Cuba Friendship Hospital. Operation Smile has a spoke in Ho Chi Minh City at My Thien Hospital.

We have partnerships with hospitals that host short-term surgical programs in Son La, Thai Nguyen, Nghe An, Quang Ngai, Gia Lai, Dak Lak and An Giang. We have established partnerships with institutions that provide oral health services in Hue, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Nghe An, Dak Lak and Hanoi.

Five-Year Vision

Over the next five years, Operation Smile will address barriers to seeking and reaching cleft care in Vietnam.

We aim to provide surgical care for around 12,000 patients and deliver comprehensive care services to 24,000 patients.

We will work to expand our system of hubs and spokes, building local capacity across the country.

To improve health policies and health governance in Vietnam, we will work together with the Ministry of Health to develop new national guidelines on emergency resuscitation.

Our Partners

Government Agencies: Operation Smile works closely with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations to deliver care closer to patients’ homes.

NGOs: The National Fund for Vietnamese children, the Live to Love Foundation and Viet Dreams Foundation support Operation Smile’s surgical programs across the country.

Universities: Operation Smile partners with top-ranking universities, such as Vietnam National University – University of Medicine and Pharmacy (VNU-UMP), Hanoi Medical University (HMU) and University of Medicine and Pharmacy at HCMC (UMC HCMC).