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Smile Train India, the country’s largest cleft care NGO, has announced the launch of its nationwide ‘Zor Se Bolo’ campaign in honor of National Cleft Day. The campaign intends to raise awareness for individuals with a cleft lip and/or palate and to let communities know that clefts are treatable through safe and accessible surgical care. The campaign aims to collaborate with all relevant stakeholders, from celebrity supporters, medical partners, donors and cleft patients, in communicating several pertinent facts regarding comprehensive cleft care for children.
Endorsing the campaign with an appeal on social media, Miss Universe Harnaaz Sandhu, said “Every child deserves the opportunity to live a life free from prejudice and discrimination. Around the world, Smile Train advocates the need for comprehensive cleft care. This campaign will go a long way in improving understanding of this treatable condition in India and I’m proud to be a part of it.”
Every year more than 35,000 children are born with a cleft lip and/or palate in India. While the ideal age for lip surgery is 3-6 months and palate surgery is 9-18 months after birth, associated stigma and lack of awareness about this treatable birth difference forces children to live with an untreated cleft.
Smile Train’s Senior Vice President & Regional Director for Asia, Mamta Carroll said, “We know the power of public opinion in creating societal change, especially in a large and populous country like India. For too long now, cleft has been seen as a curse or a bad omen when it is a treatable birth difference. While Smile Train has made a tremendous impact in the last 21 year, supporting more than 6.5 Lakh surgeries in India, awareness about cleft treatment is still one of the biggest challenges we face. This campaign is an opportunity to debunk these myths and get everyone to ‘say it loudly – cleft is curable’.”
February 8 is observed as National Cleft Day by the Indian Society of Cleft Lip, Palate and Craniofacial Anomalies and cleft charities in India. This year’s ‘Zor Se Bolo’ campaign is in line with Smile Train India’s previous initiatives around National Cleft Day to improve the quality of cleft care available to children in India. The campaign will continue for the next three months, featuring messaging from other prominent Smile Train India supporters such cricketer and sports icon Harbhajan Singh, Smile Train India medical partners, and other relevant industry stakeholders in the form of webinars, videos, and social media activities.
