Free cleft lip and palate surgery campaigns aid children in Mexico and Peru

In Quintana Roo, Mexico, Governor Mara Lezama Espinosa and DIF president Verónica Lezama visited the third free surgery day at Hospital General “Jesús Kumate Rodríguez” in Cancún. Eighteen procedures were performed on children aged 2 to 17 from eight municipalities, with support from IMSS Bienestar, state health officials and a team of five maxillofacial specialists, including a visiting doctor from Ecuador.

In Ayacucho, Peru, the Regional Hospital "Miguel Ángel Mariscal Llerena" launched a free surgical campaign from 13 to 17 July for more than 20 children and adolescents with cleft lip and palate. Patients from Ayacucho, the VRAEM basin and Junín were selected, and surgeries will be carried out by specialists from the Peruvian‑American Medical Society (PAMS) alongside a multidisciplinary local team. Both initiatives aim to improve feeding, speech and social development for vulnerable children.