A six-day medical mission has commenced in Dhaka to provide free treatment and surgical interventions for children affected by cleft lip and palate, the most common congenital facial deformities worldwide. The initiative aims to help affected children lead healthier, more confident lives.
The International Friendship Medical Mission was officially launched on Tuesday, June 24, at Sarkari Karmachari Hospital in Fulbari, Dhaka. The event was inaugurated by Dr. Md Mokhles ur Rahman, Senior Secretary at the Ministry of Public Administration, who attended as the chief guest.
This mission is organized by Smile Asia, a global alliance dedicated to treating facial deformities, in partnership with the SAJIDA Foundation, a prominent Bangladeshi development organization.
A team of 39 professionals from Smile Asia, including doctors, nurses, therapists, and allied health workers, is participating in the program. Of these, 32 are international experts from 12 countries. They will provide surgical and post-operative care to selected children throughout the mission.
On the first day, children will undergo physical and pathological screenings to identify approximately 100 candidates for surgery from a pre-selected list of 115 children referred from local communities. The surgeries are scheduled to take place over the following five days.
Children aged between three months and 10 years are eligible for cleft lip surgery, while those from nine months to 10 years can receive treatment for cleft palate.
The overarching goals of the mission are to restore essential functions such as speech, breathing, and feeding, boost the self-confidence and social inclusion of affected children, and enhance local surgeons’ skills through hands-on training and international collaboration.
According to the World Health Organization, one in every 700 children globally is born with a cleft lip or palate. In Bangladesh alone, more than 5,000 children are born with this condition each year.
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