Cleft-focused organisation Smile Train has announced the launch of a new centre at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi, Ghana, marking an advancement in cleft care within Sub-Saharan Africa.

Spanning around 30,000ft², the cleft leadership centre (CLC) has the potential to quintuple treatment capacity and increase surgical training capacity by six times at KATH.

The National Cleft Care Center – A Smile Train Cleft Leadership Center is a collaborative effort between Smile Train, the Ministry of Health of Ghana, the Ghana Cleft Foundation, and KATH.

Smile Train president and CEO Susannah Schaefer said: “The impact of this centre will be immediate and far-reaching.

“It means many more children will receive the life-changing care they need, and it means there will now be a steady supply of trained professionals who can carry this work forward for generations.”

It aims to address the critical need for cleft care in Ghana, where approximately 700 babies are born with a cleft annually.

The centre will also function as an interdisciplinary training hub for various cleft treatment disciplines, including surgery, dental care, and speech therapy.

Ghana Cleft Foundation president Peter Donkor said: “This groundbreaking centre will be a benchmark of quality surgical capacity in Africa and is a shining example of how Smile Train’s partnership-based model works.

“The opening of the National Cleft Care Center in Ghana exemplifies the long-term impact of investing in local health systems.”

Before the centre’s launch, KATH could manage care for 100 cleft surgery patients each year.

The new facility is set to support up to 500 surgery patients and an additional 350 patients requiring cleft care, encompassing nutritional education, speech therapy, orthodontics, and psychosocial support.

This expansion will increase the annual number of individuals receiving complete services from around 150 to 850.