Cleft patients to receive assistance

Tuesday, July 20, 2010 (Graphic Business Pg 11)

By Lucy Adoma Yeboah
TRANSFORMING Faces Worldwide (TFW), a Canadian charity which helps cleft lip and palate management projects in developing countries, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital to extend its operations in Ghana for the next three years.
The MoU was signed in Accra between the Executive Director of TFW, Mr Esteban Lasso and the Chief Executive of the hospital, Prof. Nii Otu Nartey during a press briefing on the operations of the Cleft Lip and Palate Management Project (CLPMP), Ghana.
The project, which is located at the Reconstructive Plastic Surgery and Burns Centre (RPSBC) at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, draws various health experts from both public and private health institutions to form a multi-disciplinary team to treat cleft lip patients.
Cleft lip and palate is a congenital abnormality or defect which causes a split in the lip or the roof of the mouth. It is possible to look into the mouth of a person with the defect, even when their lips are closed.
Problems associated with the defect are: Appearance of the sufferer, social stigma, parents not naming the child, reluctance on the part of parents to send children for immunisation or to school and abandoning or even ending the lives of some children by parents.
Medical problems associated with cleft lip are: Feeding problems, repeated ear infections, speech problems, hearing problems, learning difficulties, as well as other congenital problems such as heart, skeletal and genital problems.
Health professionals have it that it is usually a shock to parents who expect a ‘perfect baby’ to come face to face with one who has cleft lip. That situation is likely to force both or most often, the man to abandon the baby.
The defect usually occurred within the first three months of conception where some women might not even know they were pregnant and, therefore, indulged in activities which might increase the risk factors on the baby.
These include the intake of certain drugs, alcohol, smoking, anticonvulsants, retinoic acid, steroids, some herbal concoctions, lack of folic acid and lack of vitamins.
There is also the issue of genetic factors where genetic materials are passed on from parents to children.
The international non-governmental organisation (NGO) which has been working in the country since 2002, has so far supported about 500 cleft lip patients through surgery and a large number of patients have received multi-disciplinary services.
Support from TFW comes in the form of funds for medical supplies, treatment, transportation of patients and medical personnel, as well as training for local cleft specialists.
In addition to Ghana, the organisation has projects in Bulgaria, Peru, Argentina, India, Nepal, Ethiopia, China and Thailand.
Transforming Faces Worldwide (TFW) had so far offered close to 90,000 interventions on about 6,000 patients and these included Reconstructive surgery, speech therapy, hearing tests and aids, breastfeeding counselling, dentistry/orthodontics, nutritional support, psychological counselling and ear, nose and throat (ENT) services.
At the event, Mr Lasso of the TFW said globally, a child was born with a cleft lip and palate every 11 minutes and that in many developing countries, access to multidisciplinary treatment was limited or lacking in quality.
Touching on the Ghanaian situation, he identified some of the challenges facing the health sector which also affected the management of cleft lip patients as the brain drain of local medical specialists, which he said undermined development of cleft centre.
He also talked about the fact that cleft lip and palate was a low priority for the overburdened health systems as well as limited funds.
Mr Lasso said there was, therefore, the need for long-term partnerships to build multidisciplinary teams and emphasis placed on building local capacity and training.
A representative of TFW, Ghana, Mr James Hottor, said the goal of the NGO was to evolve and sustain a comprehensive cleft lip and palate management in the country, to pursue partnership for the sustenance of the project, provide assistance to poor persons with such facial defects with regard to treatment cost, travelling and accommodation while attending hospital, and also offer nutritional status improvement.
For his part, a member of the team, Dr Albert Paintsil, said
Dr Paintsil advised child-bearing women to be wary of what they do since it might affect their children.
He pointed out that cleft lip and palate defect occurred during the development of the face of the foetus in the first three months of pregnancy.
He noted that most mothers may not be aware of the pregnancy during that time and may engage in activities such as intake of alcohol and certain drugs, smoking, anticonvulsants, retinoic acid, steroids, lack of folic acid and vitamins and some herbal concoctions which may increase the risk factors of the baby developing the defect.
He said defects in the genetic material passed on to the child from the parents was also a factor.
Dr Paintsil emphasised that cleft lip and palate was not the result of witchcraft, unfaithfulness on the part of the woman, curse or the effect of a ‘bad look’ during pregnancy. GB