Cleft lip and palate is occurring in a child for every 100 births and timely treatment can cure the problem. Consanguineous marriages, lack of nutrition, smoking and alcohol consumption during pregnancy are some of the causes, says A. Sridhar Reddy, chairman, Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS), A.P. Branch.
An awareness meeting on ‘Cleft lip and Palate’ was conducted by the IRCS here on Sunday. Dr. Sridhar Reddy and Dr. A. Siva Nagendra Reddy, chairman, IRCS, Visakhapatnam district branch, said that reverse smoking, which was common in North Andhra districts, was another reason for children being born with cleft lip and palate.
Contact details
Thousands of children born with the problem, have been treated free of cost and appealed to parents to consult Kanakeswara Rao, coordinator, on his mobile no. 99666 13754 for details. Dr. Sridhar Reddy said that apart from free surgeries, free transport and accommodation was being provided to needy children and their parents.
The surgeries have to be done in a phased manner at the age of 3 months, 18 months and finally at seven or eight years.
Dr. Sridhar Reddy said that the Red Cross Society of Singapore had given two lakh face masks to the IRCS for distribution to the needy patients. Several voluntary organisations were contributing lakhs of rupees to the IRCS for various service activities. IRCS had provided free food to over 10 lakh needy people during the first and second phases of COVID-19 besides free transport to migrant workers.
