Vietnam wants the U.S.-based non-profit medical service organization Operation Smile to provide further treatment program for children and develop phonetic therapy projects for them after cleft palate surgeries, said Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh. Vice President Thinh, who is also the chair of the National Fund for Vietnamese Children Sponsorship Council, made the statement at a meeting in Hanoi on April 1 with President of Operation Smile Kathy Magee. The Vietnamese leader spoke highly of Operation Smile’s contributions to children with disabilities in Vietnam during the last three decades, especially programs on craniofacial, cleft palate, and facial defect surgeries, and treatment for burns, as well as medical staff training. Ms. Magee, in reply, thanked the Vietnamese side’s support and cooperation over the years. She pledged that Operation Smile will do its utmost to further support Vietnamese children with disabilities. In the last 30 years, Operation Smile has carried out 418 surgery programs, provided check-ups and treatments to 29,095, with a total cost of over $7.27 million, along with $1.24 million for dental examinations and treatments for Vietnamese children. Besides, Operation Smile and Vietnam’s National Fund for Vietnamese Children have worked together to performed surgeries to 30,000 Vietnamese children so far under the “For children’s smile” program. (TinTuc, Nhan Dan, QDND, Dang Cong San, plo, Vietnam Plus, vnanet)
