“Every Child Deserves To Smile”: Free Cleft Surgery Programme Opens for Children in Gauteng This May

• Operation Smile South Africa and Nelson Mandela Children's Hospital are offering free cleft lip and palate surgeries for up to 40 children in Johannesburg
• Cleft conditions affect a child's ability to eat, speak, hear and breathe, and many families in SA's public health system wait months or even years for treatment
• Among the children returning to the hospital are Rorisang and Juan, who are coming back to complete their cleft palate surgery

Operation Smile South Africa and Nelson Mandela Children's Hospital in Johannesburg are running a programme to perform free cleft lip and palate surgeries for up to 40 children. From 29 to 31 May 2026, a specialist team of 50 medical volunteers will come together at the hospital for an intensive surgical weekend.

Families of children aged six months to 12 years who were born with a cleft lip or palate are being asked to come forward for screening on Friday, 29 May 2026.

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What a cleft condition means for a child

Sarah Scarth, Executive Director of Operation Smile South Africa, said:

"Cleft conditions can affect a child's ability to eat, speak, hear and breathe; however, timely surgery can significantly improve health outcomes and open the door to a very different future."

A cleft lip or palate happens when parts of the face do not fully join together before birth. It is one of the most common birth conditions in the world. Children born with it often have issues with feeding properly. They can also face challenges with speech, hearing and breathing as they grow older.

Without surgery, many children also experience social isolation and bullying as they get older. South Africa's public healthcare system is meant to treat these conditions but remains under-resourced in many areas. Unfortunately, this leaves families on waiting lists for far too long.

Operation Smile has partnered with government and health institutions across the country over the past 20 years. They have successfully provided thousands of free surgeries to children and young adults.

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A mother whose son shares her condition

One heartwarming story connected to this programme is that of Promise Mathebula. When her son was born with a cleft lip and palate, she already knew what to do because she, too, was born with the same condition. Operation Smile helped both her and her son, and her story is one of the reasons the organisation continues to push for more families to come forward early.

Depending on the type of cleft condition, a child will need more than one surgery throughout their childhood. Aside from this, they need ongoing speech therapy, dental care and psychosocial support. For those who can't access or afford this care, programmes like this one can change the child and family's life.

Anyone wishing to register for screening at the Nelson Mandela Children's Hospital can contact Patient Coordinator Dakalo Maguga on 073 577 8786 or email infosa@operationsmile.org.

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More on SA health

• Briefly News recently reported on a South African teacher stranded in Vietnam with stage 3 cancer who made it back home after.
• Two Gauteng women were hospitalised after getting an underground procedure that was not approved.
• A Limpopo doctor has been selling food every weekend since 2018 to raise money for patients who cannot afford surgery.

Source: Briefly News