The world’s largest cleft charity, Smile Train and Scottish charity Kids Operating Room is tackling the dual challenge of greenhouse gas emissions from theatres while prioritizing pediatric surgery by innovatively installing solar surgery systems. 

The cleft charity organization disclosed plans on April 22, 2024 as the world commemorated Earth Day. 

In a press statement, the organization noted that power cuts in African hospitals can severely impact patient care with many hospitals suffering from hundreds of hours of power outage each month.

In some cases, these power outages last for days. 

Meanwhile, when they’re working at full capacity, operating rooms are a significant source of greenhouse gas production for hospitals. 

Smile Train Vice-President and Regional Director for Africa Mrs. Nkeiruka Obi noted that the solution is a win-win for access to critical surgical care and reduction in the carbon footprint. 

“The daily consumption of medical equipment is 5 KWH, and the new system could last up to 6 hours, saving 1.5 tonnes of CO2 each year. 

“This system improves our surgical infrastructure and access to critical care. Backed-up systems enable our surgical teams to carry out their treatment without fear. 

“It also reduces the carbon footprint of the operating room that draws energy from the power grid and reliance on diesel generators. Going green with our pediatric theatres is a win-win that while saving lives we are also safeguarding our planet,” said Mrs. Obi. 

For instance, in 2023, Kids Operating Room carried out a pilot study in four hospitals in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Nigeria, which recorded among the highest power outages. 

Of the 4 sites, the Democratic Republic of Congo had the longest average outage time of 176.7 minutes and lost the most amount of time to power outages during the trial. 

Nigeria came second, experiencing outages more frequently than any other hospital, although the average power cut was shorter at 96.01 minutes. 

Zimbabwe and Tanzania fared better but still lost significant time during the trial to power outages, with Zimbabwe still losing more than two days in total during the trial. 

The pilot study which was carried out for 31 days showed a CO2 reduction by 1,104.84KG. They project that 13 tonnes of CO2 will be reduced in just a year from the pilot. 

This pilot demonstrates carbon footprint reduction and savings in the hospital’s running cost. 

Following the success of the pilot, the two charities will implement the solar surgery installations across 40 pediatric theatres by 2025.  

Smile Train and Kids Operating Room work together in countries around the world to increase capacity for safe pediatric surgery, including lifesaving cleft lip and palate surgeries. 

Smile Train empowers local medical professionals with training, funding, and resources to provide free cleft surgery and comprehensive cleft care to children globally. 

Kids Operating Room is a global health NGO that works directly with local surgeons and their teams across Africa and South America. 

It has also transformed hospital spaces into dedicated Operating Rooms for children’s surgery, creating child-friendly surroundings.