Govt plans prog for cleft lip, palate children nationwide
Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain on Thursday pledged to launch a nationwide programme to rehabilitate children born with cleft lip and cleft palate in Bangladesh.
He made the announcement at a gala dinner held at Gulshan Club in the capital on Wednesday night to mark the 8th International Friendship Medical Mission of Smile Asia in Dhaka.
The event was organised by the Government Employees Hospital in collaboration with Smile Asia, the Ministry of Public Administration, Dhaka Bank PLC and SAJIDA Foundation under the theme “A Pledge for New Smiles.”
As part of the initiative, 69 children with cleft lip and cleft palate received free corrective surgeries. Addressing the programme, the health minister said the suffering and emotional challenges faced by children born with cleft conditions deeply affect everyone.
He praised the team of experienced surgeons, anaesthesiologists and nurses for successfully restoring smiles to the children through the surgeries.
Sakhawat Husain also acknowledged the support provided by the Government Employees Hospital in organising the medical mission with the international team of specialists.
Inviting Smile Asia and SAJIDA Foundation to arrange similar initiatives in the future, he said the government would transform the effort into a national programme during Smile Asia’s next visit so that the services could reach a larger number of people across the country.
Among those present at the event were Dhaka Bank PLC Managing Director and CEO Osman Ershad Faiz, SAJIDA Foundation CEO Zahida Fizza Kabir, Smile Asia Secretary General Abhimanyu Talukdar and Director General (Additional Secretary) of Government Employees Hospital Md A Razzaque Sarker, among others.
