Based in Benin, Dr. Nina Capo-Chichi is a trilingual (French, English, and Mandarin) medical doctor with a passion for bringing quality pediatric surgery to West Africa. Before coming to Smile Train, she worked with several surgery-focused international nonprofits on issues including bringing safe surgery to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), instituting the WHO Safe Surgical Checklist in Benin and Liberia, and spreading the use of headlights as a security tool in light-constrained operating rooms.

Her wealth of experience in the surgical ecosystem, combined with her broad knowledge of effective project management, makes her a key resource for Smile Train as their Interim Program Director for West Africa. She believes quality capacity building is the linchpin to establishing sustainable, safe, and accessible surgery, and is determined to use her position to establish safe and comprehensive cleft care programs for her region and, ultimately, all of Africa. Her involvement in global surgery has led her to co-author a few articles on safely implementing the WHO Safe Surgical Checklist in the operating room during COVID-19 in LMICs.