Partners in African Cleft Training (PACT)
What is the PACT program?
Partners in African Cleft Training (PACT) is an international cleft lip and palate training program to improve and expand access to cleft lip and palate care in sub-Saharan Africa.
This unique initiative trains health professionals in Ghana, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Liberia, Kenya and Tanzania to treat cleft lip and palate and to develop local education programs. Participants care for children in their own clinics and train fellow providers in their countries and in other African nations.
The program began as a collaboration between Seattle Children’s Hospital and Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi, Ghana. Since its founding in 2007, the program has trained more than 150 African healthcare providers from nations including Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya. In total there have been 17 in-person week-long training workshops with participants representing 8 disciplines (surgery, anesthesia, speech, orthodontics, pediatrics, nutrition, nursing and social work) in support of interdisciplinary team care.
Participating teams have expanded the size and makeup of their teams. Many of the first trainees in the program are now training other cleft team providers and some are team leaders.
Due to the COVID pandemic in 2020 the in-person workshop was replaced by virtual workshop and quarterly seminars began in 2021. A virtual classroom was established in 2022. The program currently includes annual weeklong workshops in Kumasia, Ghana and quarterly virtual seminars. Each workshop includes interdisciplinary team clinics, surgery and didactics. At the most recent 2024 workshop in Kumasi participants from disciplines including surgery, anesthesia, nursing, nutrition, pediatrics, orthodontics, social work and speech therapy traveled to Kumasi from 5 African countries where they were joined by 7 providers from the Seattle Craniofacial team and over 40 host team members. For information about the 2023 workshop, please visit the “On the Pulse” Seattle Children’s Hospital blog: Craniofacial Experts from Seattle Children’s Make Global Impact (seattlechildrens.org).
Additional impacts from this program include design of the NIFTY cup (infant feeding cup for infants with cleft palate) and the establishment of a speech pathology program at the University of Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) and funded surgical training program for cleft-related procedures at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (Ghana).
Interdisciplinary Approach to Cleft Care
PACT emphasizes the same interdisciplinary approach used at Seattle Children’s Craniofacial Center and has received international praise for its effectiveness and quality of care.
PACT is dedicated to creating a quality, Africa-based model where local interdisciplinary cleft teams objectively assess their outcomes and ensure quality of results.
Ways to Help
With your support, we can train more African providers – and help many more African children with cleft lip and palate. Designate your donation to Partners in African Cleft Training/Unknown Child Fund for International Patients. Thank you.
Contact Us
Contact Anne Hing MD, PACT program director, Seattle Children’s Craniofacial Center or Joyce Doll, PACT program coordinator, at Craniofacial.PACT@seattlechildrens.org for more information.