**Author details**

be educated on the need for follow-up after operations and the importance of regular visits to the craniofacial orthodontist, pediatrician, speech therapist and feeding specialist for the long-term.

It has long been the aim of global health care organizations to provide educational and training opportunities to health care professionals of LMIC, who can thereafter deliver high quality, team-based care in their local regions. A number of approaches have been outlined and

Delivering knowledge to local professionals on-site during cleft missions is effective in transmitting small, focused, and discrete areas of knowledge and experience. Although enormously enriching, such short-term programs provide a rather limited introduction to cleft

Long-term partnerships between local hospitals and academic institutions in wealthy countries help to provide proper, professional education, and experience. This can either be achieved by allowing fully credentialed visiting surgeons to stay with a host hospital and teach for an extended period of time or by bringing a limited number of host country participants to educational programs in regions with well-established craniofacial centers. More robust academic partnerships can also promote local academic leaders and would enhance training for health care providers in other fields, including speech pathology and surgical technicians. Such training programs aim to provide much needed local cleft care experts, who

Collection of prospective, standardized data can yield high quality information that can be used to improve overall knowledge, cleft care processes, and outcomes. In addition to contributing to the field, research results can be presented to local health care professionals and the general population. Research can broadly be categorized as: epidemiological, genetic, preven-

Orofacial clefts are a correctable condition with proper treatment resulting in a dramatic improvement of function and quality of life. Providing universal cleft care in LMIC still faces numerous challenges today due to a lack of basic health care infrastructures [22]. Traditionally, international health missions have been very successful in providing reconstructive plastic surgery to people in resource-limited regions. Largely due to the success of

can contribute to the development of sustainable, self-sufficient cleft care centers.

tion/risk factors, clinical presentation, outcomes assessment, and quality of life.

**(b) Training and education of local professionals**

54 Designing Strategies for Cleft Lip and Palate Care

proven to be effective in accomplishing this goal:

• **Long-term education and training**

care and surgery to local professionals present at the time [6].

• **On-site education**

**(c) Clinical research**

**11. Conclusion**

Mairaj Ahmed<sup>1</sup> \*, Yunfeng Xue2 and Ayisha Ayub3

