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, the hub in Rio de Janeiro serves as an educational center, providing top-quality training for surgeons, online learning opportunities for medical providers across various specialties and scholarships for local coordinators of cleft centers so they can be trained in multidisciplinary care delivery.

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

Five-Year Vision

Over the next five years, Operation Smile will provide surgeries for 2,275 patients and deliver consultations for approximately 8,925 patients. We will increase access to cleft surgery and comprehensive care for patients living in the north and northeast of the country by expanding our direct patient care programs and providing education and training opportunities for medical professionals.

We will partner with universities in Porto Velho, Santarem and Cariri 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 We partner with ALBEM Albergue de Mossor6, a free, 24-hour accommodation for family members of patients staying at public hospitals in Mossor6, particularly for families from rural areas and other regions.

Government & Ministry of Health:
Our partnerships with local and state health secretaries and governments, as well as with the Brazilian Navy, have allowed us to expand cleft care and effectively coordinate surgical programs. We partner with Hemopa Foundation, an organization in Para, Brazil, responsible for coordinating and implementing the state’s blood policy.

Universities:
Operation Smile collaborates with top-ranking University of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro State University.