The Children's Hospital No 1 in Ho Chi Minh City recently reviewed the implementation of its cleft lip and palate surgery programme over the past 5 years. 

Over the review period, over 2,000 children with cleft lips and palates received free surgery at the hospital, up to 6 cases every day.  They were aged under 16 and came from poor families.  43 of them were from Da Nang and Quang Nam Province.  Most notably, all of the surgeries were performed successfully without any complications.

Funded by Smile Train, a US non-governmental organisation, the programme has covered the full cost of surgery and medicines for the child patients, and partly supported their travelling expenses.

To mark the occasion, a club named “Children’s Smiles” was opened at the hospital to act as a bridge between doctors and the families of children who suffer from the above disabilities.