Operation Smile’s all-female Cebu mission to benefit 80 children

Operation Smile Co-founder and President Kathleen Magee

MANDAUE CITY, Cebu — An all-female international surgical and educational mission is set to visit Cebu this October to especially bring smiles to the faces of children with cleft lip and cleft palate.

The mission that will be in Cebu from Oct. 10 to 15, is part of Operation Smile’s “Women in Medicine” program in Asia.

In a statement, Operation Smile said that this year’s mission would be “aimed at putting the spotlight on the critical role women play in the global healthcare system, and to encourage them to take on leadership roles in their professions.”

“”Women in Medicine” is central to our 10-year goal of increasing access to quality care for one million patients around the world, and to help build global health infrastructure,” Operation Smile Co-founder and President Kathleen Magee said.

“The program seeks to educate women in resource-poor countries on advanced medical practices, empower them become leaders in global medicine, expand opportunities for female health care workers in underserved communities, and elevate the quality of cleft care,” she added.

Their Cebu mission will start with a one-day forum on women empowerment in the medical field.  This will be followed by four days of free surgeries and care for 80 children with cleft lip and cleft palate at the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC).

In partnership with Operation Smile Philippines, MSY Charitable Foundation, and the Cebu City government, Operation Smile assembled a team of 60 volunteer cleft care professionals who come from 12 different countries.

The multinational team consists of plastic surgeons, anesthesiologists, pediatricians, dentists, speech therapists, child life specialists and biomedical technicians from the U.S., Vietnam, Australia, Guatemala, Colombia, Peru, Honduras, Sweden, UK, Egypt, South Africa, and the Philippines.

“Our ultimate goal is to inspire and enable women to take on leadership roles in the medical field so they can help shape policies that would attract more women into the fold and equip them with global-standard skills to widen access to safe surgery and quality cleft care,” said Operation Smile Philippines trustee and MSY Charitable Foundation CEO, Martin Yeung.

“By empowering women in medicine at the local and regional level, we are creating a transformative change that will ripple across the healthcare landscape,” he added.

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