Overall Score: 18 based on 9 data points
Finance: 5
Governance: 6
Support: 7
(no PartB)
Strong growth: +2, Fundraising costs low: +3,
Good trustee age range: +3, Gender balanced board: +3,
Supporters: +7

KIDS OPERATING ROOM 

Overview

Kids Operating Room (KidsOR) has made remarkable progress on its plan to build 120 children's operating theatres in sub-Saharan Africa by 2030. Their programme is well designed, requiring significant financial commitment by the local health authorities and sophisticated data analysis to ensure the facilities are being fully utilised. This data can also help to identify local safety issues which can be addressed to prevent the need for hospital care. The impact data is a powerful indicator that this charity is highly effective.

Source: Giving is Great

Mission:

Helping children get the vital operations they need
Analysis by Giving is Great

Positives:

  • This charity is endorsed by a respected charity impact evaluator
  • There has been strong growth in spending since inception
  • There have been no income shortfalls in recent years
  • Fundraising costs are unusually low relative to funds raised
  • The Board appears to be well diversified in terms of age and gender

How you can help

Established: 5 years

www.kidsor.org

Scottish Charity RegulatorCompanies HouseTwitterFacebookInstagramYouTube
UN SDGs
?
Financial Data
Income & Spending ?
Period ending 31/12/18 31/12/19 31/12/20 31/12/21 31/12/22
Charitable activities
Donations & Legacies £4,590,000 £4,590,803 £4,467,969 £20,247,613
Other Income
Investment Income £956 £952 £3,031
Total income £4,590,956 £4,591,755 £4,471,000 £20,247,613 £7,117,411
Charitable activities spending £1,002,632 £1,828,351 £2,928,591 £19,905,050 £3,915,985
Fundraising costs 1% 1% 2% 4%
Other spending
Total spending £1,002,632 £1,872,942 £2,994,428 £20,212,874 £4,233,736
Surplus/deficit £3,588,324 £2,718,813 £1,476,572 £34,739 £2,883,675
Download accounts
Comment: The significant jump in funds reported in 2021 was the result of a major donation of PPE to the organisation during the COVID-19 pandemic. In partnership with the Scottish Government, they distributed over 25 million items of PPE, as well as 100 oxygen concentrators to countries in Africa

Source: Giving is Great

What it does
  • It makes grants, donations or gifts to organisations
  • It carries out activities or services itself
Kids Operating Room (KidsOR) works with local surgeons and their teams to create fully equipped operating rooms for children's surgery. This enables those teams to use their dedication and talents to treat greater numbers of children, transforming lives one operation at a time
Who it helps
  • Children or young people
  • People with disabilities or health problems
Purposes
  • The advancement of health
  • The saving of lives
Where it operates
  • UK and overseas, main operating location: City of Edinburgh

Who's supporting them? ?

Endorsed by:
  • UBS Optimus
Donations from Grant Makers ?

We have details on the following significant donations. Multi-year donations are allocated to the years for which they are earmarked.

Specific Donations
Amount When
Months		 To be used for
The EQ Foundation
£25,000 17/12/2021
Operating room at AIC-Kijabi hospital

Data sourced from Donors via 360 Giving

How do they operate?

Infrastructure

Objectives: Installing world-class paediatric operating rooms in African countries most in need

Beneficiaries: Children

Location: Sub Saharan Africa

Description: Today, many paediatric surgeons are working in facilities that have no equipment for paediatric surgery. They operate using their phone torches instead of custom-built lighting, apply anaesthesia using ill-fitting and poorly maintained equipment and use surgical tools designed for adults. Patient safety is at risk due to this basic lack of equipment. Kids Operating Room are working to put life-changing tools in the lifesaving hands of paediatric surgeons. By giving them everything they need to operate safely, they can safeguard the future of generations of children in Sub Saharan Africa. Kids Operating Room

....more
People and Skills

Objectives: Training paediatric surgeons

Beneficiaries: Children, African Paediatric Surgeons

Location: Sub Saharan Africa

Description: Kids Operating Room, in partnership with Africa's Surgical Colleges, have created scholarships to increase the number of specialists in the region and thereby reduce child morbidity and mortality. The countries which currently don't have a single paediatric surgeon are Kids Operating Room's priority. To underline the simplicity and sustainability of this programme, a Kids Operating Room in Rwanda is being used as a training centre for the first time, with Rwanda's only paediatric surgeon training a KidsOR-sponsored scholar. This success will be replicated in

....more
Research

Objectives: Accurately measuring the impact of each Kids Operating Room and demonstrating the value of paediatric surgery to future partners

Beneficiaries: Children, Healthcare Systems

Location: Sub Saharan Africa

Description: Kids Operating Room appoints a Data Collector at each of their sites to record the volume, type, and outcomes of each operation. This data is collated and analysed by their in-house team in collaboration with their partners at University of California San Francisco. In contrast to many charities, Kids Operating Room's global research project is not only to assess their own impact but also to create a global database for each of their partner hospitals to access. This gives each partner independence and insight when undertaking their own medical research and quality improvement. The collaborative research effort of KidsOR, UCSF and the individual hospital research teams means that they are working together to create better paediatric

....more
How effective are they?
Main mission: Helping children get the vital operations they need
Outputs
Outcomes
Y/EOperating rooms installedOperations performedDisability Adjusted Life Years avertedAdditional GDP expected
31/12/202281,5271,389,743£2,750,468,571
31/12/20214646,154835,000£1,520,000,000
31/12/20202514,490246,337£377,259,095
31/12/2019248,167138,832£212,617,491
Notes: Figures in the table are cumulative. Independent analysis suggests for every operation carried out in operating rooms KidsOR install, they can attribute an average of 17.1 years of disability prevented. They can further extrapolate an economic benefit to the host nation by calculating what that child will grow up to contribute in terms of GDP rather than not contributing (due to early death or very significant disability).

Commentary: Their research team, working in collaboration with the Centre for Global Health Equity at the University of California, found that every operating room KidsOR open will provide at least 600 children a year with access to care (though some hospitals do more, where the need is for more straightforward operations, while others do less where the need is for more complex procedures). The figure of 600 is therefore an average but on their current trajectory they look to have capacity to provide tens of thousands of children with the essential, often emergency, care they need.
See what you could achieve with a donation of: £

Who works here?

  • DAVID CUNNINGHAM
    Chief Executive Officer
A Psychology graduate with a keen interest in early-years development, David has championed the importance of creating high-quality, age-appropriate environments for children’s healthcare in low-resource settings. Formerly the Chief Executive of the ARCHIE Foundation in the North of Scotland, he is a Fellow of the Royal Society for Public Health and was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Dundee for his work to improve ....more
  • ROSEMARY MUGWE
    Director for Africa
Rosemary is leading Kids Operating Room\\\'s advocacy with Governments, Regional Economic Communities, Intergovernmental organisations, Academic institutions and non-state actors to secure partnership and political commitment to strengthen paediatric surgical capacity interventions in the sub- Sahara region. She is a lawyer with an advanced degree in development. She has over 15 years of experience working on health development initiatives ....more
  • DAVE TIPPING
    Director of Global Operations
Dave graduated from DJCAD with a BSc and BArch in Architecture. Before KidsOR, he worked for 10 years at Nicoll Russell Studios, taking a particular interest in healthcare design. Following this passion, he moved into the third sector as Director of Projects for the ARCHIE Foundation, where he delivered National and International projects to improve healthcare provision for children.
  • KATE SMITH
    Director of Fundraising and Communications
Kate has worked in fundraising and communications for over 15 years. Kate’s career has largely been within children’s charities as she’s passionate about giving children the best possible start in life. She has led fundraising and communications teams at Children 1st, the Prince’s Trust in Scotland, and worked with UNICEF UK. Immediately prior to joining KidsOR Kate led a multi-million-pound capital fundraising campaign for the King’s ....more

How is it governed?

Directors (5)
Current Directors appointed
Gender Split

Age Range of Directors: 28-74
Legal constitution
  • Charity registered in Scotland on 05/07/2018, number: SC048523
  • Registered at Companies House on 11/01/2018, number: SC585374
Main office

, EH2 3ES

Objectives

2.1 The Company's charitable purposes are the advancement of health and saving of lives by equipping, constructing, and/or in any other way supporting surgical facilities for the provision of safe surgery for children throughout the world. This may extend to procuring equipment, maintaining facilities previously supported and/or providing training to those persons responsible for using any such facility. the collection and assessment of data for the purposes of reporting on impact. and/or such other related charitable objects as the company in its sole discretion may determine. The Company operates on a non-profit basis.

Data Sources

Scottish Charity Regulator
360 Giving

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