From left: Prof Peter Donkor, George Kumi Kyeremeh, Kwaku Sakyi-Addo, CEO of Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, and Nkeiruka Obi with other dignitaries at the event
The first national conference on cleft lip and palate (CLP) care has been held, with a call for a national dialogue which will lead to coherent solutions to cleft lip and palate care in Ghana.
The one day conference, themed: ‘Developing Standards for Clefs Care in Ghana; Opportunities and Strategies’, brought together Ghanaian experts and non-governmental organisations to network, learn, share ideas, deliberate on standards in care and advocate quality care for the benefit of clef and palate patients.
President of the Ghana Cleft Foundation & Chairman of the Local Organising Committee, Prof Peter Donkor, giving his welcome address at the opening session, disclosed that although cleft lip and palate is the commonest birth anomaly of the face which affects all races with a frequency of one in every 700 births in Ghana, there is no national policy for its care in the country.
He said with families from economically deprived backgrounds being commonly affected with the birth defect which treatment is complex and costly, a national policy to guide its treatment is long overdue.
“NGOs with varying philosophies and resources are at the forefront of providing free surgical outreach treatment for affected children in Ghana. We need a national dialogue to develop a coherent approach to managing this condition,” Prof Donkor said.
He advocated the establishment of a national association to be called ‘Ghana Cleft Palate/Craniofacial Association (GHACPA)’ to provide leadership and a unified voice on cleft issues.
Prof Donkor stated that GHACPA when formed would spearhead research to provide the evidence for practice. It would partner the Ministry of Health to set standards for provider training and certification, as well as guidelines for facility-based and outreach services.
Nkeiruka Obi, West African Representative of SmileTrain, a non-governmental cleft organisation offering free cleft surgeries and support to individuals and organisations, pointed out that the organisation has sponsored over one million free surgeries across the world, with 25,000 from West Africa.
She said 133 out of a target of 700 surgeries were done in the country last year, adding that by the end of the year, the organisation’s target of 300 free surgeries will be achieved.
Justifying the need for investment in cleft care, Mrs Obi said with an input of $250 committed to one cleft lip surgery, $50,000 is put back into the local economy.
She also called for greater participation from government for advocacy work to expand to rural communities where stigma and occurrence of such deformities are common.
George Kumi Kyeremeh, representing the Minster of Health, Alex Segbefia, commended the organisers of the conference, adding that government was open to supporting such great initiatives that seek the total well-being of its people.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri