New Partnership between UNITAR & Operation Smile

31 August 2020, Geneva, Switzerland - The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) Division for People and Social Inclusion announced a new partnership with Operation Smile. The three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is based on the organisations’ common mission of offering innovative capacity-building tools to support the development of improved surgical care systems globally.

Operation Smile, a US-based non-profit, is one of the largest medical volunteer-based organisation in the world. Since 1982, it has been committed to the provision of safe reconstructive surgeries and medical care for those born with cleft lip, cleft palate, and other facial deformities. They also seek to empower local health professionals through training and education, and pursue a range of public and private partnerships to deliver surgical care where it is needed most. UNITAR is glad to contribute to Operation Smile’s mission of strengthen health systems and delivering safe surgical services.

Through this MoU, UNITAR and Operation Smile have committed to work towards developing capacity-building and training programmes in global surgery, and contribute to the sustainable development of global surgery, among other objectives like national surgical, obstetrical and anaesthesia planning. The MoU also extends to joint studies and projects of mutual interest, fundraising, and organizing together international, symposia, etc.

UNITAR is glad to work with Operation Smile for the mission of ensuring and providing safe surgical care for those born with cleft lip and cleft palate, and to contribute to the larger mission of healthcare delivery to all and improvement of global surgery.