Rwanda

In 2013, Rwanda had only two plastic surgeons. Operation Smile has since helped to train 22 general surgeons in cleft and plastic surgery and three additional certified plastic surgeons.

Operation Smile Rwanda: By the Numbers

Operation Smile’s work in Rwanda has transformed lives and elevated health systems.

2009

Year Services Began in Rwanda

2,000

Surgery Patients

25+

Certified Volunteers

Expanding Access to Care

To ensure that every child has access to care close to home, we equip the providers within our patients’ communities with skills and resources to deliver high quality care. We build the needed capacity by harnessing the talent and resources that exist within the country, usually in the bigger cities, the hubs, to train providers in under-resourced areas, the spokes, where most patients lack access to care.

In Rwanda, Operation Smile’s hub is based in Kigali at CHUK and the Rwanda Military Hospital.

Six district hospitals act as spokes in Ruhengeri, Gisenyi, Kibuye, Bushenge, Kibungo and Rwinkwavu.

We have gained the trust of the top two plastic surgeons in Rwanda, Professor Faustin Ntirenganya and Dr. Charles Furaha, who have been instrumental in developing our five-year plan and are involved at the heart of our educational programs.

Five-Year Vision

Operation Smile will address barriers to cleft care in Rwanda by strengthening the health system and reaching a higher volume of patients across the country.

By utilizing the hub-and-spoke model, we will ensure that 100% of Rwandans live within 75km of a facility providing plastic surgery.

Operation Smile believes that health workforce education and training will help us achieve sustainable and long-lasting impact.

Every surgical program has an educational focus; every table is an educational table, training both Kigali-based resident and host hospital staff.

The training of surgical teams will enable surgical care for over 51,500 patients over the next five years.

Each year we will conduct:

Six locally led weeklong surgical programs, led by Prof. Faustin and Dr. Furaha and additional core international instructors to provide training and mentorship.
Three-week long international surgical training rotations in Rwinkwavu, which will be phased out as local teaching capacity develops.
Twelve visiting professorships.

Over the next five years, Operation Smile will provide 1,200 surgeries.

We will renovate surgical units and learning spaces at six district hospitals and enhance plastic surgery operating rooms and educational spaces in two regional hospitals.

Our Partners

Operation Smile has an established relationship with the Ministry of Health in Rwanda, which allows us to work and partner with hospitals across the country.

We partner with leading academic institutions in Rwanda, including the University of Rwanda and the University of Global Health Equity. Operation Smile Rwanda has also partnered with a number of international universities, including the University of Cape Town, the University of Maryland and the University of Gothenburg.

Operation Smile Rwanda works closely together the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA), the College of Anesthesiologists of East, Central and Southern Africa (CANECSA), the World Federation of Societies of Anesthesiologists (WFSA), Partners in Health and Medical Aid International.