By Abdul Kanu
On the 24th April 2021, the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, through the Tonkolili District Health Management Team, with support from an international charitable children’s organisation known as Smile Train, launched a nationwide awareness raising campaign to identify and conduct free surgery on children and adults suffering from Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate disorders in Tonkolili District.
The launch of the campaign, which took place at the Stino After Works Complex in Magburaka, attracted health care staff and community stakeholders drawn from various communities within the Tonkolili District.
Speaking during the awareness raising meeting, the District Medical Officer of Tonkolili District, Dr. Abdul Mac Falama, described Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate as a kind of disorder of the lip and palate that is mostly caused by some kind of genetic pre disposition and environmental factors but are not hereditary or caused by witchcraft or evil spirit.
He pointed out that the Ministry of Health’s engagements with the health care staff and community stakeholders is to ensure that information about the free Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate surgery on mostly children affected by such condition, is spread across Tonkolili District so that members of the wider community can help to identify and refer such people to the nearest health facility from where they will be screened and referred to either the Holy Spirit Hospital in Makeni or the Bo Government Hospital for free surgery to be done.
Dr. Abdul Mac Falama noted that Smile Train will provide all the necessary support to ensure that a successful surgery is conducted on the patient including the provision of motivational package in the form of cash to anyone who identifies and refers a patient suffering from Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate as a form of compensation for the effort.
The District Social Mobilization Officer of the Tonkolili District Health Management Team, Mohamed A Jalloh, encouraged the health care workers and the community stakeholders to spread the message in their respective communities about the free surgery of people suffering from Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate which is expected to be conducted sometime in May 2021 after the identification and screening of patients.
Some of the community stakeholders engaged including Bishop Joseph Y. Koroma, Chairman of the Tonkolili Church Ministers Council and Abdul Majid Kamara, Secretary to the Tonkolili Board of Imams pledged to in turn engage their respective memberships on the issue as part of their contributions to the nationwide awareness raising campaign on the free surgery of persons affected by Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate.
Section Chief of the Old Town Section in the Kholifa Rowalla Chiefdom, Tonkolili District, Pa Amadu Larkoh said as community stakeholders, they will support the Tonkolili District Health Management Team and Smile Train to identify people suffering from Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate in their communities and refer them to the nearest health facility for screening so that they will be able to benefit from the free surgery that is being supported by the international charitable children’s organisation, Smile Train.
The session ended with series of commendations for Smile Train International which is working with the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health and Sanitation through the Tonkolili District Health Management and the Ministries of Health in other West African countries to put smile on the faces of children and adults suffering from Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate.
