Operation Smile performs 88 operations in one week

Operation Smile volunteer doctors have conducted successful operations on 88 people with cleft palettes in the past week.

The operations were done at Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH) in Lilongwe, one of the three health facilities which the Ministry of Health allocated for its free services to the public.

Operation Smile board chairperson Haroon Sacranie said during a dinner marking the end of the exercise in Lilongwe on Friday that all beneficiaries are back in their communities.

He said: “We identified the beneficiaries from different areas and we kept them for 10 days in which we met all accommodation, meals and transport expenses.”

Operation Smile operations manager Ibrahim Mthalika said 105 people were identified for the operation, but some of them have been put on surveillance to ensure that their conditions stabilise before the operation.

“Due to some factors, we could not operate on some of them but we are observing them and they may get a chance when we perform other operations at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in January next year,” he said.

Ministry of Health Principal Secretary Dr Dan Namarika pledged continued support to the organisation to help it reach out to more people in the country.

Government through the Ministry of Health allocated Queen Elizabeth, Kamuzu and Zomba central hospitals as facilities where Operation Smile renders its services.

Press Trust and other partners sponsor the operations. n