Smiles Initiative, a non-profit organisation has expressed commitment to curbing the menace of cleft lips and cleft palate in newborn babies in Nigeria.
The organisation said it is working to bring professionalism in the treatment of cleft lips and cleft palates around the country.
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Professor Adetokunbo Adebola, the Chairman Smiles Initiative, who stated this on Wednesday at the Northwest zonal meeting of ‘Smile Train’, health professionals which took place in Kano, identified inaccessibility of cleft patients especially among the rural population as their major concern.
He added that :”cleft issues are suppose to be given special care and the health workers treating it need special training, however, one of the major challenges we are having is accessing the patients, especially those in the rural areas.
“It is important to note that the overall surgery of cleft patient is free in the country, this is a measure to reduce the problem nationwide.
Speaking about the objective of the meeting Adebola said, “What we’re doing today is to analyze our challenges and the prospect, and proper solution to them.
“Challenges are usually overcome in step wise manner, that’s to say we cannot do that once but with time, and with our limited resources.
“One of the challenges is for the patients to know our services, and come to the hospital rendering such for necessary measures.
“Many are in the rural areas, that we can’t reach them through, that will come and access the free services” Adebola said.
Speaking earlier, a plastic Surgeon with Ahmad Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Dr. Muhammad Lawal Abubakar said, he is optimistic that the meeting will pave new ways for addressing the menace of cleft lips in the north.
He added that, the major target is on the children born with the problem, which when given such treatment will be out of the problem and live as normal humans in the society.
He said, “adequate media campaign is needed to reach out to those patients, via traditional rulers, religious leaders and trade men and women from those areas.
The Specialist then called on the government, Non-governmental organizations to work hand in hand with the professionals to see that the cleft issue becomes a thing of the past.
On her part, Project Coordinator Grassroot Smile Initiatives Mrs. Feyisara Adebola revealed that over 3000 cleft lip surgeries were successfully conducted at the Armed Forces Specialist Hospital Kano, which is in partnership with other bodies.
“This to to say our organisation is the best looking at the large number we’re able to cover base on the report, we started in 2008 and this is where we’re now,” Mrs. Feyisara Adebola.
