Health Minister Announces National Programme for Cleft Lip Rehabilitation
Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md. Sakhawat Husain has today pledged to launch a nationwide program for the rehabilitation of 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, organized to mark the 8th International Friendship Medical Mission of Smile Asia in Dhaka.
The event was arranged 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 underwent free corrective surgeries.
Addressing the gathering, the health minister said the suffering and emotional hardship faced by children born with cleft lip or palate deeply move everyone.
He praised the team of experienced surgeons, anesthesiologists, and nurses for restoring smiles to the children's faces through successful surgeries.
The minister also acknowledged the full support provided by the Government Employees Hospital in facilitating the medical mission carried out by the international team of specialists.
Inviting Smile Asia and Sajeda Foundation to organize similar initiatives in the future, he said the government would elevate the effort into a national program during Smile Asia's next visit, enabling such services to reach a much larger number of people across the country.
Among those present at the event were Dhaka Bank PLC Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Osman Ershad Faiz, SAJIDA Foundation Chief Executive Officer Zahida Fizza Kabir, Smile Asia Secretary General Abhimanyu Talukdar, and Director General (Additional Secretary) of the Government Employees Hospital Md. A. Razzaque Sarker, among others.
