Brazil

Increasing 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 Brazil, our main educational partners is a cleft treatment center located in Rio de Janeiro, whose professionals provide multidisciplinary training for health care providers from our spokes, as well as specialized training for surgeons.

The spokes are located in Santarem, Porto Velho and Natal.

Five-Year Vision

Over the next five years, Operation Smile aims to provide access to surgery for up to 40% of the total estimated cleft lip and palate patients in the north and northeast regions of Brazil. We will increase access to cleft surgery and comprehensive care for patients living in these regions by expanding our direct patient care programs and offering education and training opportunities for medical professionals.

We will partner with universities in Porto Velho, Santarem and Natal to provide education in dentistry, speech therapy, nursing, pediatrics, nutrition and psychology. We will develop a teaching hub in Rio de Janeiro.

Operation Smile will lead a coalition to advocate for the passing of a bill that mandates the public health care system to provide reconstructive plastic surgery for patients affected by cleft lip or cleft palate.

We will support cleft research among Brazilian health professionals, enhancing the quality of cleft care in the country.

Our Partners

NGOs
Operation Smile works closely with associations of cleft patients and their parents, partnering with several national associations, such as Rede Profis and ASFIR (Association of Cleft Patients of Rondônia). We also partner with organizations that support the smooth running of our surgical programs, such as ALBEM (Albergue de Mossoró), a free, 24 hour-accommodation for family members of patients seeking care in the city, particularly for families from rural areas and other regions.

Government & Ministry of Health
We have several partnerships with public and government agencies. We have partnerships with the state health departments of Rondônia and Rio Grande do Norte, as well as with municipal health departments in the cities where we conduct surgical programs. We also have a partnership with the Brazilian Navy, which assists us with cargo transportation, identification and patient transport.

Universities
Operation Smile maintains partnerships with several renowned universities in Brazil. We partner with the University of São Paulo (USP), where we support genetic research in cleft lip and palate patients. We also partner with the Albert Einstein College of Health Sciences, which focuses on oral health studies.

In addition to these partnerships, we maintain student clubs at the following institutions: Pará State University (UEPA), Petrópolis School of Medicine | Arthur Sá Earp Neto University Center (UNIFASE-RJ) and São Lucas University Center | Afya in Porto Velho.