Kumasi, July 21, GNA – Professor Dr. Solomon Obiri Yeboah, Head of the National Cleft Care Centre, has dismissed myths about cleft lips and palates, saying affected children are normal human beings deserving care and acceptance.
He said the belief by some people that such children were from the devil (Bosomba) had no scientific basis and urged the public to disabuse their minds of misconceptions surrounding the condition.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview in Kumasi, Prof. Obiri Yeboah, who is also a reconstructive surgeon, explained that cleft lip and palate was a congenital condition that developed during pregnancy.
He said a surgical procedure could enable affected children to eat, smile, and speak like any other child.
Prof. Obiri Yeboah urged parents with babies born with the condition not to hide them due to misconceptions and stigma from families and communities but rather seek medical care for them.
He said with surgery and proper healthcare, such children could grow to acquire professional skills and contribute meaningfully to their families and society.
He pointed out that treatment for the condition was basically free of charge.
The reconstructive surgeon called on the public to abandon long-held myths and misconceptions surrounding babies born with cleft lip and cleft palate, stressing that such children deserved love, care and acceptance like any other child.
He noted that the condition could affect any child regardless of the family’s social, economic or religious background, adding that affected children must not be abandoned to grow with the condition.
He appealed to community leaders, religious organisations, healthcare professionals and the media to intensify public education to eliminate discrimination against children born with cleft conditions.
Prof. Obiri Yeboah emphasised that every child deserved dignity, equal opportunities and access to quality healthcare, regardless of any congenital condition.
He urged families to embrace children born with cleft lip and cleft palate with compassion, saying they were not “children of the gods” but human beings with the same rights and potential as every other child.
He mentioned the National Cleft Care Centre as a cleft treatment hub with the capacity to provide care for patients with the condition and encouraged parents with affected babies to seek urgent medical attention.
He said more than 700 children were born with the condition in Ghana annually, describing it as a serious condition that could sometimes be life-threatening.
Prof. Obiri Yeboah commended Smile Train, Ghana Cleft Foundation, the Ministry of Health (MoH) and Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) for their immense support.
He said sustained public education and increased access to specialised healthcare services would help reduce stigma and improve the quality of life of people living with cleft conditions across the country.
GNA
Edited by Kwabia Owusu-Mensah/Audrey Dekalu
Reporter: Frances Dorothy Ward