AEFUTHA MEDIA ROOM

Ebonyi, 19th March 2026 -- Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital (AEFUTH), Abakiliki, Ebonyi State has today unveiled a paediatric theatre that has been renovated by global charities Smile Train and Kids Operating Room (KidsOR).

In low- and middle-income countries, around 85 per cent of children will need surgical care before their 15th birthday, but more than a billion children worldwide lack access to safe, affordable, and timely surgical and anesthesia care. Hundreds of children are expected to benefit from the state-of-the-art Operating Room, which has been outfitted with equipment tailored for pediatric surgical care. AEFUTH is the eighth operating room that has been renovated by the Smile Train-KidsOR partnership in Nigeria.

Speaking at the unveiling ceremony, Smile Train Program Assistant Adaeze Muonyelu acknowledged that the philanthropic act by Smile Train in partnership with KidsOR will greatly improve access to both elective and emergency operations in AEFUTH, thereby reducing morbidities and mortalities from delays in emergency surgery and long waits for elective surgery.

“The provision of a dedicated theatre for paediatric patients is highly commendable in many respects, especially in Ebonyi where the available operating facilities are grossly inadequate to cater to the large population. Smile Train is focused on strengthening public health systems through our sustainable partnership model. Supporting AEFUTH in this renovation will increase their capacity and elevate the quality of care for children across the state. We remain committed to boosting the capacity of local healthcare professionals while prioritizing children in receiving safe, quality, and timely surgery and anaesthesia care.”

David Cunningham, Managing Director of Kids Operating Room, added: “Over the years of collaborating with Smile Train, our greatest impact is in leveraging technology to elevate surgical services reaching the most vulnerable in under-resourced countries. We believe that having a dedicated children's operating theatre in the country, will create a brighter and healthier future for the children living here.”

AEFUTHA, which serves over 4.4 million people in Ebonyi State has a 72 pediatric bed capacity and has treated over 100 patients with clefts since 2014. Professor Robinson Chukwudi Onoh, the Chief Medical Director (CMD) at Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, expressed delight at the new theatre saying: “In addition to providing world-class standards of care using the new equipment, the new theatre is motivating teams to carry out more surgeries with a refreshed frame of mind. We anticipate having more children receiving surgeries.”

Smile Train and Kids Operating Room continue to build surgical and anaesthesia capacity to reach patients in the last mile. Since 2020, Smile Train and Kids Operating Room have renovated 31 paediatric operating rooms in 21 African countries. The Smile Train-KidsOR collaboration has also partnered with the College of Surgeons of West Africa (WACS) and the College of Surgeons of Eastern, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA), to provide a paediatric surgical fellowship for the training and education of 45 paediatric surgeons across Africa. The two charities have relied on innovation to meet the dual challenge of power cuts and managing greenhouse gas emissions by installing self-sufficient solar surgery systems in 77 rooms across various regions of Africa.

About Smile Train

Smile Train empowers local medical professionals with training, funding, and resources to provide free cleft surgery and comprehensive cleft care to children globally. We advance a sustainable solution and scalable global health model for cleft treatment, drastically improving children’s lives, including their ability to eat, breathe, speak, and ultimately thrive. To learn more about how Smile Train’s sustainable approach means donations have both an immediate and long-term impact, please visit smiletrain.org.

About Kids Operating Room

Kids Operating Room is a Scottish-based charity working globally to provide paediatric Operating Rooms in hospitals and safe equipment to surgeons. KidsOR also funds training of surgeons and anaesthesia providers and works with National Ministries of Health to develop sustainable healthcare services. Working across Africa and Latin America KidsOR has installed close to 50 Operating Rooms and provided over 45,000 children with access to emergency lifesaving and life-changing surgery. Visit: https://www.kidsor.org

Press Contacts: Smile Train
Emily Manjeru
PR & Communications Manager, Africa
+254724 926 269
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KidsOR
Alistair Goldie
Digital Communications Officer
+44 (0) 755 260 2460
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