Today I am heading to Kigali, Rwanda, where bigger than 400 main world lecturers, policymakers, and healthcare experts will salvage at the Pan-African Surgical Convention to take care of a prime world health roar: bringing gain entry to to complete surgical care closer to patients’ properties.
This crucial gathering has me reflecting on a day out I took with my husband, plastic surgeon Bill Magee, bigger than 40 years up to now to the Philippines to help children immediate of existence-changing surgeries. We dreamed of the exhaust of our healthcare abilities to bring unique smiles to children who wanted cleft lip and palate surgeries. We operated on 40 children but had to turn away 300 more. The need used to be overwhelming—no longer perfect for cleft care, but all surgical procedures in the Philippines and dozens of diverse countries worldwide.
We also realized that in many locations, there used to be a lack of trained physicians, nurses, tools, and infrastructure, no longer perfect for cleft care but for stable surgeries of all kinds. What started with a diminutive bit one with a cleft condition led us to a community, which showed us the need for a trail. That 2nd sparked Operation Smile, which used to be basically based on the concept that when you mediate a necessity, you seize action toward addressing that need.
Today, we maintain helped over 400,000 patients worldwide with surgical care, while supporting thousands more who received free complete care products and companies. What started in a village in the Philippines has turn into a world organization that works completely in 37 countries.
But the need is peaceable so big. Worldwide over 5 billion other folks—bigger than two-thirds of the sector’s population—lack gain entry to to stable, cheap surgical draw.
Accurate swap happens when care is native. This is the reason we maintain evolved our approach to focal level on training and equipping in-country surgeons and scientific teams to ship existence-saving procedures of their communities.
We work intently with native scientific leaders, health ministries, universities, accrediting institutions, NGOs, and international organizations. We hear to our in-country mavens, strengthen them, and be taught from them to pressure affect.
In Africa we operate in 12 countries, working with top surgical and anesthesiology institutions to build a sustainable team. Our work in Africa started in Kenya in 1987, and in 2025, we’re expanding to Tanzania. Our key companions—COSECSA, CANECSA, the American Heart Association, and the World Federation Society of Anesthesia—help us advise and equip Africa’s subsequent generation of surgeons and anesthesiologists.
In Rwanda, a nation of 13 million, there were perfect two plastic surgeons when our work there began. Households looking for cleft surgical draw traveled tons of of miles—handiest to be became away. To swap this, we partnered with the Rwandan authorities, introducing a hub-and-spoke mannequin that trains scientific mavens in the community. Today, Rwanda is scaling this mannequin nationwide, and we’re proud to strengthen this effort alongside the Rwanda Surgical Society, the College of Rwanda, and the Rwandan Ministry of Effectively being.
Our affect is proper: from two plastic surgeons to nearly two dozen, and from one country to a continent-huge trail. Across Africa, 55 universities and institutions are training the next generation of surgeons, decentralizing care, and chopping costs for patients.
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This work is greater than surgical draw—it is a draw swap that will future-proof gain entry to to surgical draw. By strengthening native abilities, lowering reliance on out-of-country scientific strengthen, and equipping governments with proper-time health knowledge, we’re establishing a sustainable future for surgical care in Africa.
On the Pan-African Surgical Convention in Kigali, world experts will attain together to push this agenda forward. Most though-provoking by bringing stable, official surgical draw closer to residence will we ship hope, maintain a permanent affect, and make certain no affected person is left in the lend a hand of.
Kathy Magee is the co-founder, president, and CEO of Operation Smile and a registered nurse.
