Historic: State of the Art Ghana Cleft Center Will Improve Care for Thousands in Africa

Wednesday June 25 was a blisteringly hot June day in Kumasi, Ghana — 86°F, sunny, and humid. But that didn’t stop some of the country’s leading luminaries from donning their finest and braving the heat to witness history: the opening of National Cleft Care Center – A Smile Train Cleft Leadership Center, the first of its kind in Africa and one of the largest and most advanced cleft care centers on Earth. 

The state-of-the-art, 30,000 square-foot building sits on the campus of longtime Smile Train partner Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH). It was inaugurated with live music and dancing in front of more than 400 people, including government officials, heads of nonprofits, Smile Train patients and their families, and cleft professionals.

If the sight of a large gathering of people fanning themselves, dressed in the colorful kente regalia, playing drums, and dancing the Adowa gave the proceedings the feel of a regal Ghanian celebration, it was for good reason. This was truly a day to celebrate.

Ghana’s Cleft Leadership Center (CLC) will increase local cleft treatment capacity fivefold, providing not only cleft surgery, but world-class comprehensive cleft care, including speech therapy, nutritional support, orthodontics, psychosocial counseling, and more for those in need in Ghana and all of Africa.

As Prof. Peter Donkor, Past President of the West African College of Surgeons, member of Smile Train’s Medical Advisory Board and Africa Medical Advisory Council, and the CLC’s new Director said in his remarks during the opening ceremony, “We used to have one operating room available per week. Now we have three, and they are all available for clefts [every day].”

The Center is expected to serve as a magnet, attracting talented healthcare professionals from across Africa for training and empowering them to return home as the local cleft experts their communities need.

This towering milestone in cleft care is the product of a yearslong, four-way partnership between Smile Train, The Ghana Cleft Foundation, KATH, and Ghana’s Ministry of Health. Representatives from all four organizations spoke movingly about what this Center will mean to children and families in need in their country and across the continent.

The Ghana CLC is so much more than a physical upgrade to one of our partners. It has the potential to change the culture around clefts and those who have them throughout the entire region. As Prof. Donkor put it, “Children with clefts face many risks.  Some are banished from their villages. At the clinic, we hear so many stories. A woman came in and said, ‘If you don’t do something about this, I’m going to give this child up.’ That’s how desperate they get. The children get malnourished, have difficulty speaking clearly, their teeth don’t develop well. Adequate treatment must make the child feel well. Be able to sing… be proud of their appearance and feel good.” 

Smile Train’s President and CEO Susannah Schaefer picked up on this theme in her speech: “Where a child is born should not prevent them from accessing the life-changing cleft care they need and deserve,” she said. “This belief is at the heart of Smile Train’s focus on investing in local talent, empowering local solutions, and creating lasting impact. And this Cleft Leadership Center is a shining example of our model at its best — building local, lasting capacity to enable communities to care for themselves today and for generations to come.” 

Yet, for all the inspiring statements and impressive projections and statistics the speakers touted, perhaps no one brought home why this day mattered better than Ernestina, a former patient.

The KATH team, along with Smile Train, has truly placed a smile on my face. One I never thought I could wear with such confidence. And as if that wasn’t enough, the Ghana Cleft Foundation opened a new chapter in my life by offering me employment. Now, I get to work with them to help other children with clefts, just like me, to also smile…. To Smile Train and the Ghana Cleft Foundation, thank you so much for giving me more than just treatment. You’ve given me dignity, purpose, and joy in life. You believed in me when I was just finding the strength to believe in myself. Your kindness has transformed my journey, and I will forever be grateful. May the smile you’ve created in me and so many others continue to echo through the generations.

The Ghana CLC proudly joins Smile Train’s global network of Cleft Leadership Centers in Brazil, Chile, India, the Philippines, and Vietnam. Each strengthens not just local cleft care but entire health systems, ensuring thousands more like Ernestina will find their confidence, strength, and smiles today, tomorrow, and for generations to come.