Smile Train, WACS ask younger surgeons to specialise in cleft surgery

Smile Train, a global cleft charity, and the West African College of Surgeons (WACS) have produced its first cohort of cleft specialists.

In a statement on Friday, Smile Train said the cohort graduated following a 9-month long training and the award of post-fellowship cleft surgery certification, the first of its kind with WACS.

The pioneer graduates were Amaka Ehighibe, Aliyu Umar Farinyaro, Bright Otoghile, Sabo Vinishe (Nigeria), Emile Tano (Ghana), Gandjèhou Houessou (Benin) and Allaye Garango (Mali).

According to the organisations, the programme was instituted in a bid to increase the number of cleft specialists in West Africa,

Speaking during the graduation ceremony held at the 62nd general annual meeting and scientific conference of WACS in Monrovia, Liberia, Nkeiruka Obi, Smile Train vice-president and regional director for Africa, emphasised the importance of training younger surgeons in ensuring access to safe and quality surgeries locally.

“Smile Train contributes to building a functional surgical system with comprehensive cleft care through various capacity building programs,” Obi said.

“We continue to encourage younger surgeons to specialise in cleft surgery and carry on the great work of the seasoned surgeons. In addition to a full scholarship, they benefit from mentorship and cultural exchange which creates invaluable exposure. They also ensure a healthy pipeline of cleft surgeons who provide forever smiles within their local communities all year round.”

Speaking at the ceremony, Wilhelmina Jallah, Liberia’s minister for health, strongly advocated for partnerships in treatment of cleft.

“If we are to manage public health more effectively, collaboration is the way to go. We celebrate Smile Train for leading the way in ensuring local capacity building while providing the necessary resources to reach the most vulnerable with safe and quality cleft care services,” Jallah said.

Peter Donkor, WACS president, said there is still a huge gap of qualified surgeons serving large populations in low to middle income countries.

“Currently in West Africa, the total number of surgeons that we have is way below to meet the needs of our population and the rate at which we are training them is not meeting the increasing demand,” Donkor said.

“Our collaboration with Smile Train is growing the network of qualified cleft surgeons within the community. We encourage younger surgeons and especially women to leverage such opportunities to thrive in their careers.”

The graduation dinner was attended by past and sitting presidents of WACS, lecturers and Smile Train partners within West Africa.