30 June 2025

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Smile Train to Open Africa’s Largest Cleft Center in Ghana

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On June 25, 2025, Smile Train—the world’s largest cleft-focused organization—will officially open the National Cleft Care Center–A Smile Train Cleft Leadership Center at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi, Ghana. The nearly 30,000-square-foot facility will be the largest cleft care center in Africa, significantly expanding access to safe, high-quality, and comprehensive cleft treatment across Ghana and the greater Sub-Saharan Africa region.

The center is the result of a 4-way partnership between Smile Train, Ghana’s Ministry of Health, the Ghana Cleft Foundation, and KATH.

Why This Matters

• The opening of the National Cleft Care Center represents a major advancement in global health equity and surgical access

• Will increase treatment capacity at KATH by more than 5 times (from approximately 150 to 850) and surgical training capacity by 6 times (from 3 to18 surgeons) annually

• A case study in how U.S.-based nonprofits are building sustainable, locally led healthcare infrastructure

• Demonstrates how investment in training and capacity-building can transform outcomes for children with clefts worldwide

The opening ceremony will take place in Kumasi, Ghana on Tuesday, June 25, 2025. 

In a moment when international aid is being debated, this milestone shows what effective, community-rooted U.S. partnershipscan accomplishwhile offering a model of what’s working—and why it matters. It’s about building sustainability and capacity during a time when U.S. foreign aid is under renewed scrutiny—a story of an American nonprofit investment making a deep, lasting impact—far beyond headlines and handouts.

This center is more than a new facility–it marks a major step forward for global health equityand represents a rare example of an American nonprofit investing millions of dollars to help build locally led, sustainable healthcare infrastructure in the Global South, stated Smile Train.

The new center will serve as a regional hub for cleft surgery, training and innovation—expanding access to life-changing care for children born with clefts across Sub-Saharan Africa. And it’s designed to last, operated in partnership with the Ghanaian government, healthcare professionals and institutions.

Smile Train empowers local medical professionals with training, funding, and resources to provide free cleft surgery and comprehensive cleft care to children globally. The non-profit advances a sustainable solution and scalable global health model for cleft treatment, drastically improving children’s lives, including their ability to eat, breathe, speak, and ultimately thrive.

Source: www.smiletrain.org