Dubbed: “A Smile Train Cleft Leadership Centre”, the facility which was fully funded by Smile Train, the world’s largest cleft-focused organisation, is believed to be the largest cleft care centre in Ghana and Africa.

The project was duly executed through a four-way partnership between Smile Train, the Ministry of Health, the Ghana Cleft Foundation and KATH.

It is expected to provide a wide range of services including plastic and reconstructive surgery, velopharyngeal dysfunction surgery, Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT), Paediatric and family medicine.

Others are orthodontics, oral health, speech therapy, anaesthesia and intensive care services.

Before the construction of the centre, KATH was able to care for approximately 100 cleft surgery patients annually, along with 20 orthodontic and 25 speech therapy patients.

However, when fully operational, the new centre would support up to 500 surgery patients and 350 comprehensive cleft care patients with services, increasing the number of individuals receiving holistic services annually from 145 to 850.

Speaking at the event last week Wednesday, the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Smile Train, Susannah Schaefer, said the centre would significantly expand access to cleft care in Ghana and throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.

She said the facility would increase KATH’s capacity to provide cleft surgeries and other forms of comprehensive cleft care, as well as serve as a regional hub for education and training for cleft care practitioners from Ghana and beyond.

She added that Smile Train was not new in Ghana, as it had since 2003 supported nearly 3,000 cleft surgeries, saying “in our line of work, these numbers mean so much to us than statistics, as many lives have been changed and saved.”

She stressed: “We estimate that more than 700 babies are born with a cleft each year in Ghana alone and thousands more throughout Africa,” and added that where a child is born should not prevent him or her from accessing the life-changing cleft care they need and deserve.”

Further, she applauded the various partners for their vision and collaborative spirit, particularly the government and many supporters for leading the charge towards birthing the centre to serve its intended purpose.

The Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, in a speech delivered on his behalf, said the ministry had supported the project since inception and remained committed to ensuring its long-term sustainability.

More importantly, he mentioned that additional assistance would be provided to the centre, including the allocation of the required health personnel and other staff for optimal service delivery.

While urging the management of the facility to ensure the centre’s proper maintenance, Mr Akandoh pledged to work with all stakeholders to expand the scope of the services provided for children with cleft lip under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

The Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr Frank Amoakohene, commended all the stakeholders for playing diverse roles towards the provision of the centre which would be a specialised healthcare facility.

He said the centre would restore the self-esteem of children born with cleft and urged the media to help break the silence and stigma associated with cleft conditions to ensure inclusivity.

The acting Chief Executive Officer, KATH, Dr Paa Kwesi Baidoo, said KATH had been a leading light in cleft care for over three decades with the provision of comprehensive cleft care to children born with cleft and other palate deformities.

“It is for this reason that we did not hesitate to provide space no matter the cost, for the construction of this beautiful and life-changing edifice by demolishing a key emergency bungalow which served as a duty post for some critical staff, to pave the way for the project,” he stated.

He pointed out that the new centre was more than a building, but a sanctuary of hope as well as a place where children with cleft and palate conditions would find healing, adding that “families of such children will find support and communities will be empowered”.

The Hiahene, Nana Prof. Oheneba Boachie-Adjei Woahene II, who represented the Asantehene, Otumfuo II, and also chaired the event, said for decades, the burden of untreated clefts in Sub-Saharan Africa was met with silence, stigma and scarcity of access to specialised care.

He said the centre would therefore serve as a polygon for surgical training, research, innovation and leadership in cleft care and stressed, “let us walk forward with renewed resolve to ensure that no child lives in shame or silence because of an untreated cleft deformity.”

Writer’s email: [email protected].