Building sustainable capacity for interdisciplinary cleft care in low to middle income countries (LMICs) has been part of GSF’s work from the beginning. Our volunteers routinely provide education and training on every mission, and year-round cleft care centers have been established in Ecuador and Lebanon.
To expand educational efforts further, GSF launched yearly Comprehensive Cleft Care Workshops (CCCW). In October 2021, the 4th workshop will be held in Istanbul, Turkey and bring together global leaders from the craniofacial and cleft fields with expected attendance of 400 surgeons, dentists, speech pathologists and allied healthcare specialists.
GSF has published several articles demonstrating the efficacy of the workshop model, highlighting the impact of such educational activities on healthcare professionals and their practice (click here for publications).
After the 2020 workshop, renowned cleft surgeon and 2019/2020 workshop faculty member Dr. Robert Mann said, “[CCCW] delegates were given great information to use today and some important food for thought to build a better future.”
More information on the workshop is available at: www.cleftworkshop.org.