One in 700 infants is born with cleft lip and palate problems, and the issue needs to be dealt with in earnest in order to ensure a normal life for such children, Mission Smile’s Chief Operating Officer Conrad Dennis said.
The establishment of exclusive cleft lip care centres in all States is the need of the hour to give a new lease of life to them.
On the sidelines of a free cleft lip and palate surgery camp held in Tirumala Hospital of Vizianagaram, Mr. Dennis spoke to The Hindu over the steps to be taken to ensure a normal life for the children.
According to him, Mission Smile has ensured operations for nearly 39,000 children so far, and said many more surgeries are needed for other children.
“With the support of the North-eastern State governments, we could establish one cleft lip care centre in Guwahati for providing treatment and post-operative care to patients. Currently, we have chosen some hospitals across India as regular venues for operations. But the establishment of more cleft lip care centres on a permanent basis is the need of the hour. We request all the governments to set up them in a Public Private Partnership mode to help thousands of children lead normal lives. Post-operative care will also be ensured for them when permanent centres are there,” said Mr. Dennis.
He said that apart from health issues, the children with facial deformities were facing many problems such as social boycott in schools and other places.
“Children’s growth will be restricted as they cannot eat properly until the operations are conducted. Speech is another major challenge as they cannot speak like others. Their smiles can be brought back when all stakeholders join hands to help them get rid of the problem,” said Mr. Dennis.
He said that research has been going on across the world to ascertain the exact reasons for the birth defect.
Mr. Dennis thanked the surgeons for performing the surgeries free of cost as an individual social responsibility. “Fortunately, many companies are coming forward to take up the cause. It augurs well for the children suffering from facial deformities,” he added.
