Bengaluru: Free surgeries for children born with deformities

Bengaluru: Rashtriya Bal Swashtya Karyakram (RBSK) under National Health Mission, Government of Karnataka, initiated a collaboration with Inga Health Foundation (IHF) to provide comprehensive, free surgeries and other requisite treatments like speech therapy, orthodontics to the poor children of Karnataka born with birth deformities affecting the face and skull.

Such deformities range from cleft lip & palate which is the commonest, to very complex skull deformities like Craniosynostosis and other complicated conditions.

The Memorandum of Understanding between National Health Mission/RBSK and Inga Health Foundation was initiated in the year 2017. Since then, RBSK along with Inga Health Foundation have clearly demonstrated a sincere commitment in providing free treatment (including Transportation, Food & Accommodation) to children between the ages of 0-18 years.

A special project was initiated by RBSK and the state government called the 1000 Smiles Karnataka, in collaboration with Inga Health Foundation and its partner organization, Operation Smile Inc, with the intention of making Karnataka a cleft free society.

A total of 1036 surgeries have been completed successfully till date, with excellent outcomes in esthetics, speech, growth and nutritional status.

This project has also led to a significant positive impact on the beneficiaries, as well as their families and society at large.

The beneficiaries all are now growing up normally into fine social and financial contributors to our society. The beneficiaries of this project covered all 30 districts and 175 taluks of Karnataka.

Approximately, 1583 children with cleft lip & palate and 443 children with skull and facial deformities are born every year in Karnataka. Thus, almost 2000 children with skull and facial deformities are born in Karnataka every year.

The RBSK has identified this great need and will help identify such children through its existing network in Karnataka.

The target of achieving 1000 smiles in Karnataka was completed in a short span of 2 years in November 2020. NHM-RBSK, Government of Karnataka, has now set an ambitious target to complete 5000 surgeries for the forthcoming year 2021-2022 to scale new heights.