Nearly 5 billion people across the world lack access to safe and affordable surgical care.

This burden is felt most acutely in low- and middle-income countries where — among many health emergencies and needs — untreated birth defects impact individuals’ abilities to pursue education or professional opportunities.

Here are three key lessons Smile Train has learned about how to improve access to health care in developing countries:

  1. Bolster local healthcare capacities in developing countries: We suggest that when and if possible, organizations assess how they can increase local capacities to ensure the community benefits long term.
  2. Balance between a laser-focus on one key vision, while also providing additional supplementary patient resources: We can — and do — have a singular focus, but we remain aware of the other issues that impact the patients we serve and recommend that all nonprofit organizations take a similar approach.
  3. Emphasize the importance of local relationships: Each community and culture has its own set of unique needs, concerns, and customs. Empowering partners at the local level allows us to focus on context-specific problems and solutions, rather than employing a one-size-fits-all approach to global health.

Read the full article on increasing global access to healthcare at Devex International Development