About Project Harar
Since 2001 Project Harar has worked in the poorest and most remote areas of Ethiopia to provide access to treatment for young patients with cleft lip and palate.
Children who live in remote areas of Ethiopia already experience food insecurities due to environmental, social and economic factors, these difficulties are heightened for those with cleft lip and palate and these children can become dangerously undernourished. Babies are often unable to suckle and may be prone to choking, making breastfeeding a near impossible task. Without corrective surgery, not only will these children face malnourishment, they often go on to struggle with further developmental barriers, such as speech and hearing difficulties.
Our cleft programme is delivered in Ethiopia by an Ethiopian Programme team who are experts in their field. In rural Ethiopia, children with cleft lip and palate are often hidden away by their families, unable to go to school or have friends. There is a lack of awareness that a cleft condition is treatable. Project Harar strives to break social stigma, working with community leaders and local health clinics to provide information and access to treatment for cleft lip and palate.
About Project Harar
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The need
Since 2001, Project Harar has provided life-changing surgery to over 10,000 patients with cleft lip, palate, and complex facial disfigurements.
Overcoming Stigma:
Children with facial disfigurements often face social exclusion and are denied education. A simple cleft operation can transform their future—allowing them to attend school, grow up with peers, and build families of their own.
Complex Surgical Mission:
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Project Harar ran an annual mission bringing UK and international surgical teams to Ethiopia to treat around 50 of the most severely disfigured patients, including those affected by tumours, noma, or hyena attacks. Since 2011, they have operated on over 500 individuals and supported local capacity-building by training Ethiopian surgeons, doctors, and nurses.
Nutrition Support:
Cleft-affected babies often struggle to feed, leading to malnutrition and delayed surgery. Children must reach 9kg before surgery—their programme ensures they get the nutrition they need.
Speech & Language Therapy:
Post-surgery, many cleft patients need speech therapy to reintegrate into school. Project Harar offers this support and has piloted a community-based therapy programme with Transforming Faces in Oromia—helping reach remote patients where services are otherwise inaccessible.
Training Health Workers:
To build sustainable local support, they have trained over 10,200 government health and social workers in cleft awareness, referral, and stigma reduction. This programme strengthens healthcare systems and extends our reach across Ethiopia.
The solution
In October 2024, Meeting Needs granted Project Harar £5,000 towards their project to provide free access to treatment for children with cleft lip and palate in Ethiopia. Directly from this grant, the team in Ethiopia were able to carry out a programme at the Dessie Selam Hospital, Amhara region treating 64 patients. Project Harar works in the community in remote rural and marginalised areas across Ethiopia.
Geographical and financial constraints mean that families would not otherwise receive the awareness, support, and access to free treatment they need.
For more about the project, see here.