Shweta Sharma, 37, a school teacher in India’s Bengaluru City, remembers an incident from seven years ago. Her daughter Aishwarya, then 4, was attempting to blow soap bubbles but no iridescent spheres escaped from the blower. The child broke down. She wept, wondering why a task easy enough for her peers was impossible for her. Aishwarya was inconsolable that day, the mother recalls, eyes welling up at the memory.
Aishwarya, now 11, was born with a cleft lip and palate, a condition resulting in a split in the upper lip and roof of the mouth. One in 500 children in Asia, and 1 in 700 globally, are born with this deformity. In India, that’s an estimated 35,000 cases a year.
Aishwarya, like many other children, underwent reconstruction surgeries as an infant.
But experts point out surgeries aren’t the end of medical intervention for cleft patients. Surgeries alone don’t ensure rehabilitation, and reliance on them has failed to guarantee that children born with cleft lips and palates are integrated into society.
Keep reading: Join Devex on the ground for a visit to a cleft center in India, where patients, caretakers, and experts show how to best manage comprehensive cleft care.
Visit the Building Back Health series for more coverage on how we can build back health systems that are more effective, equitable, and preventive. You can join the conversation using the hashtag #BuildingBackBetter.
About the author
Mahima Jain@theplainjain
Mahima Jain is an independent journalist based in India. She covers issues at the intersection of gender, health, culture, and environment.