Understanding Comprehensive Cleft Care Local Care Centres

Of the 7.8 billion people in the world, approximately 5 billion (64%) do not have access to safe and timely surgical care. It’s a big number and the barriers facing many of our patients, and future patients and their families, in accessing care and surgery are very real. Chief among them are distance and cost.

In Nicaragua, a typical patient’s family earns approximately $30 per month. The expenses for seeking medical care for these patients in the capital city of Managua are over $100 per person for each visit.

That’s why local medical volunteers and the staff of Operation Smile Nicaragua made a trip in January 2021 to the eastern coastal city of Bluefields, located 350 kilometres from the capital. The purpose of the trip was to bring comprehensive cleft care to patients in the region so they would not have to travel.

With funding support provided by Canadian partners, this new Mobile Clinic pilot project helped reduce or eliminate the distance and cost barriers for patients. The program was an immediate success and three more trips followed.

During this pilot program, 33 local medical volunteers provided care to 156 patients and conducted 891 consultations in specialties like speech therapy, nutrition, pediatrics, psychology, dentistry, pediatric dentistry, social work and nursing.

Thanks to your support, we’re able to maintain our commitment to provide care to patients with cleft lip and palate in this region of the country where patients face many barriers to receiving care.