Smile Train Encourages Women to Take Up Scholarships in Surgery

5th March, 2024 - Freetown, Sierra Leone — The world’s largest cleft-focused charity, Smile Train is encouraging more women to apply for scholarships to advance their surgical expertise, ahead of this year’s International Women’s Day which is themed Inspire Inclusion.

Speaking during the 64th Annual Scientific Conference of the West African College of Surgeons (WACS), Smile Train President and Chief Executive Officer, Susannah Schaefer noted that fewer women were taking up scholarship opportunities offered by the organisation. This could be due to family obligations, demanding work environments and vulnerability to sexual and gender-based violence.

“Women in the surgical workforce are likely to give up their dreams to care for their families, Smile Train provides scholarship opportunities through institutions such as WACS to elevate the quality of cleft surgeons in the community. However, out of approximately 108 scholarship opportunities, only 36 percent of them have been taken up by women. Yet, the women are often top-of-class, and in their fields, they deliver impeccable surgical outcomes”, noted Schaefer.

She added that women are disproportionately affected by clefts, due to the stigma associated with the condition. Schaefer urged women in surgery to complete their studies, seek mentorship and pursue leadership roles in surgery to influence policy saying: “Mothers often carry the shame and stigma of raising a child born with a cleft. Women in leadership bring a unique aspect of empathy and social connection. In the spirit of diversity, equity, and inclusion, I urge men and women to be intentional in creating collaborative spaces for female surgical professionals”.

Smile Train collaborates with institutions such as WACS, COSECSA (College of Surgeons of East and Southern Africa), CMSA (College of Medicine of Southern Africa), CANECSA (College of Anaesthesia of East Central and Southern Africa) and KidsOR (Kids Operating Room) to provide scholarship opportunities that enhance safe and quality surgical and anaesthesia care in the continent. The organisation is also setting up Africa’s first Cleft Leadership Centre in Ghana, leveraging technology to enhance education and training of medical professionals in the cleft ecosystem across Africa.

Smile Train, which is celebrating its 25th Anniversary in 2024, has transformed the lives of close to two million beneficiaries globally. Since 2002, Smile Train in Africa works with more than 700 local partner hospitals and over 300 medical partners in 42 countries to provide free cleft treatment. To date, Smile Train’s local medical partners have provided more than 170,000 life-changing cleft surgeries in the region. Smile Train has been running a cleft surgery programme in Sierra Leone since 2016, creating lasting smiles for more than hundreds of beneficiaries.

About Smile Train:

Smile Train empowers local medical professionals with training, funding, and resources to provide free cleft surgery and comprehensive cleft care to children globally. We advance a sustainable solution and scalable global health model for cleft treatment, drastically improving children's lives, including their ability to eat, breathe, speak, and ultimately thrive. To learn more about how Smile Train's sustainable approach means donations have both an immediate and long-term impact, please visit smiletrain.org.uk.

Press Contact:

Smile Train
Emily Manjeru
PR & Communications Manager, Africa
+254724 926 269
emanjeru@smiletrain.org