Prioritising cleft care as a health issue, Pg9

Key Highlights:

• Over 750,000 cleft surgeries have been performed in India in the last 25 years by Smile Train, an international NGO.
• Approximately 1 in 700 children in India are born with cleft lip/palate each year, resulting in a backlog of 7,000 corrective surgeries annually.
• Independent surveys estimate that 36,000 babies are born with cleft abnormalities in India every year.
• A 2022 report indicated that children with Orofacial Clefts (OFCs) in India are 1.5 times more vulnerable to severe malnutrition.
• The National Birth Defect Awareness Month was launched in August 2024 with the theme ‘Breaking Barriers’ to discuss congenital malformations.

Detailed Insights:

• Cleft lip/palate is a facial birth defect that occurs when tissues do not fuse during pregnancy, leading to gaps in the upper lip and mouth roof.
• There is a lack of documented birth anomalies and inadequate parental counseling, with high surgery costs deterring families from seeking help.
• NGOs collaborate with city-based private hospitals to provide free or subsidised surgeries due to the lack of specialised infrastructure in government hospitals.
• India is yet to nationally recognise craniofacial anomalies as a notifiable disease, despite the WHO's recognition in the Global Burden of Disease initiative.
• Smile Train India and other organisations address gaps in cleft services by empowering local doctors through training and covering surgical costs.
• Collaboration with the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram and ASHA is essential for early screening and clear communication on birth defects.
• Policymakers need to recognise cleft deformity as a health issue and improve management at the grassroots level, where awareness and access are limited.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Cleft Lip/Palate: A birth defect where the lip or mouth doesn't close completely during pregnancy.
• Orofacial Clefts (OFCs): A group of birth defects that affect the face and mouth.
• Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram: A government initiative for early detection and intervention for children's health issues.