Last fall, UPA hosted the 2^nd MENA Cleft and Craniofacial Care Conference in Amman, Jordan. Organized by the UPA Embracing Life Program and supported by Smile Train, the conference engaged over 50 medical professionals from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) to discuss best approaches for providing comprehensive craniofacial care.

Disciplines participating were: plastic surgeons, maxillofacial surgeons, ENY surges, speech therapists, orthodontists, dentists, genetic researchers, nurses, feeding specialists, and anesthesiologists.

The conference emphasized the need for multidisciplinary teams in the treatment and care of patients with cleft and craniofacial anomalies. UPA’s Embracing Life Program is unique in this respect because it follows this model of comprehensive care instead of focusing exclusively on the surgeries needed to repair the cleft.

Presentations an discussions reviewed various approaches to further improve the overall quality of treatment available to cleft and craniofacial patients in centers across the MENA region.

Since 2014, UPA’s Embracing Life program has been expanding the capacity of the Palestinian medical personnel and providing local centers for families to turn to for craniofacial surgeries.