To carry out these free surgeries, a team of surgeons from Kenya will travel to the country.
Speaking to Novo Jornal, Preciosa Bento Pires, assistant of the Smile Train-Angola program, explained that the organization aims to share experience with Angolan doctors, with the aim that in the future Angolan professionals will be able to carry out operations of this kind.
The operations will take place between January 10th and 15th, at Hospital Geral do Lubango, in Huíla. The official informed that the surgeries will be performed by eight doctors specializing in maxillofacial surgery in Kenya.
This is not the first time the organization performs surgeries in the country: in 2019, Smile Train performed 70 operations and in 2020 performed 107, making a total of 177 surgeries in Angola.
"Now we plan to operate 200 patients. And we have a good adherence of people with this problem," said the assistant.
The official also made it known that on the two previous occasions in which they operated in the country, the capital was the province with the highest number of patients. For next year, Luanda is no exception, continuing to occupy the first place in the list of provinces with the most patients.
To Novo Jornal, the official also mentioned that the biggest difficulties are related to the transport of patients to Huíla: "Our greatest difficulty is the transport of patients from the provinces where they are to Huíla".
However, Preciosa Bento Pires explained that some provinces provided transport and stated that in Huíla, even if some patients do not have a place to stay, "they can stay at the NGO 'Crianças Felizes'" which is a partner of the international organization.
Smile Train is a non-profit organization that offers corrective operations for people with a cleft lip. Based in Kenya, this organization has existed since 1999 and is present in 85 countries.
