Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain has announced plans for a national treatment and rehabilitation programme for children born with cleft lip and palate in Bangladesh. He shared the initiative on Wednesday night at the 8th International Friendship Medical Mission dinner in Dhaka organized by Smile Asia.
During the "A Commitment to New Smiles" programme, 69 children received free corrective surgeries. This effort was led by the Government Employees Hospital alongside Smile Asia, the Ministry of Public Administration Dhaka Bank PLC and Sajeda Foundation. The event gathered senior medical professionals, international specialist surgeons and organizational leaders.
Minister Sakhawat emphasized that while children with these conditions face significant hardships, skilled medical teams are successfully restoring their smiles and improving their quality of life. He encouraged partners like Smile Asia and Sajeda Foundation to continue their humanitarian work, pledging that the government will elevate this initiative to a national level to reach more patients.
Praising local medical advancements the minister noted that doctors at Dhaka Medical College Hospital's burn unit have developed an innovative method to transport skin grafts across districts within four to six hours accelerating burn treatment.
Additionally he commended healthcare workers for their tireless efforts treating diarrhoea cholera skin diseases and snakebites across 11 flood-affected districts. Health authorities have ensured adequate supplies of antivenom water purification tablets and essential medicines to support these ongoing emergency medical services.
