Smile Train, a global cleft charity, has established seven solar-powered pediatric theatres across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones to enhance surgical healthcare services for children. Nkeiruka Obi, Smile Train’s Vice President and Regional Director for Africa, announced this at the 5th National Surgical, Obstetrics, Anesthesia, and Nursing Plan (NSOANP) stakeholders forum in Abuja, which reviewed the concluded NSOANP 1 program.
Over the past two decades, Smile Train has supported more than 50,000 Nigerian families with free, high-quality cleft care. Obi highlighted that the organization’s achievements include providing training for healthcare professionals and transforming the surgical landscape through solar-powered theatres. This innovative approach addresses Nigeria’s persistent power outages, ensuring uninterrupted surgical procedures.
“We’ve prioritized a patient-centered model that aligns with the World Health Organization’s six health system building blocks,” Obi said. “By enhancing infrastructure, workforce capacity, and service delivery, we’ve created a sustainable system ensuring that individuals with cleft conditions receive life-changing care without financial barriers.” The solar-powered theatres, located in Lagos, Kano, Port Harcourt, Enugu, Abuja, and Ilorin, not only save lives but also reduce carbon emissions by relying on clean energy.
Smile Train’s contributions to workforce development have included upscaling essential skills in surgery, anesthesia, and perioperative nursing, alongside training biomedical engineers in the maintenance of surgical instruments. Obi acknowledged ongoing efforts to further develop Nigeria’s surgical ecosystem, emphasizing the importance of governance and leadership in advancing healthcare initiatives.
The NSOANP 1 program has also facilitated the creation of a cleft and surgery e-registry in Smile Train partner hospitals across Nigeria. This registry, which captures cleft cases as well as other birth defects and surgical conditions, aims to provide comprehensive data for tracking patient care from initial consultation to post-surgery outcomes. According to Justina Seyi-Olajide, a member of the NSOANP Implementation Committee, the registry reflects Smile Train’s commitment to improving surgical care accessibility nationwide.
