Smile Train CEO Susannah Schaefer Receives Honorary COSECSA Fellowship for Advancing Surgical Care in Africa

Rebecca Ejifoma

The President and CEO of Smile Train, Susannah Schaefer, has been awarded Honorary Fellow of the College of Surgeons of East, Central, and Southern Africa (COSECSA).

She received the recognition during the recently concluded 2025 COSECSA Scientific Conference in Bujumbura, Burundi, as contained in a press statement made available to THISDAY Wednesday.

The honour underscores Smile Train’s longstanding commitment to empowering local medical professionals and strengthening surgical systems across the African continent.

“I receive this distinction with deep appreciation, but most importantly, I accept it on behalf of the patients with clefts whose lives we continue to transform through our work around the world,” said Schaefer.

This year’s COSECSA conference theme, “Meeting the Surgical Needs in Africa through Teaching and Training,” closely aligns with Smile Train’s core model: building sustainable, scalable cleft care systems by training and supporting local providers.

During the ceremony, 11 Smile Train-sponsored surgeons graduated as COSECSA Fellows in Plastic Surgery, Pediatric Surgery, and Post-Fellowship Surgery, marking a significant milestone for local surgical capacity building.

Smile Train’s longstanding partnership with COSECSA exemplifies the power of African-led solutions. To date, the collaboration has supported 26 surgical fellows in Plastic Surgery, Pediatric Surgery, and Post-Fellowship training.

COSECSA President, Prof Laston Chikoya, expressed, “The trained surgeons not only serve in their communities but also mentor peers, drive surgical research, and influence national health policies.”

Beyond COSECSA, Smile Train collaborates with other reputable African institutions, including the College of Anesthesiologists of East, Central, and Southern Africa (CANECSA), West African College of Surgeons (WACS) and Ecole Nationale d’Administration et de Magistrature (ENAM), collectively empowering 91 surgical and anaesthesia professionals to deliver safe and timely surgery.

Globally, Smile Train, the world’s largest cleft-focused charity, has supported over two million cleft surgeries worldwide since its inception in 1999, with nearly 200,000 in Africa since beginning work on the continent in 2002.

Smile Train’s worldwide partner network comprises more than 20,000 medical professionals, including surgeons, anesthesiologists, orthodontists, nutritionists, and speech therapists.

Since its founding, Smile Train has trained over 100,000 medical professionals to better care for their communities.

In June 2025, Smile Train marked a major milestone with the opening of the National Cleft Care Center in Kumasi, Ghana – Africa’s first Smile Train Cleft Leadership Center (CLC).

Cleft Leadership Centers represent one of Smile Train’s most significant investments in establishing and growing local medical capacity around the world, serving as regional hubs for cleft treatment, education, training, and research, while providing truly holistic cleft care.

The 30,000-square-foot National Cleft Care Center in Kumasi is the largest cleft care center in Africa and is expected to increase treatment capacity by more than five times and surgical.