The first of its kind
On Saturday 24 February, from 9.30am to 2pm, the first ever comprehensive cleft care meeting was held at Weccare Foundation in the Simbok district of Yaoundé, bringing together around 70 cleft lip and palate patients and their carers or parents, specialists, researchers and health professionals involved in the cleft programme. The main aim of the meeting was to discuss recent advances in cleft lip and palate care and to promote close collaboration between the various stakeholders and patients.
How it went on
The meeting began with a speech by the founder of the Weccare Foundation, Oben Sammy , who presented the NGO weccare Foundation/ Hadassah Medical Centre , the American international NGO Smile Train , which funds the programme, and the specialities of those involved in the care of cleft patients. He gave a detailed presentation of the cleft programme set up by Smile Train, which covers a number of areas including nutrition, surgery, speech therapy, orthodontics, dental care and social support. Emphasis was placed on the importance of providing holistic and comprehensive care for cleft lip and palate patients.
Smile Train’s Central Africa representative, Sharon Ngang, then took the floor to extend a warm welcome to all the participants. Her speech underlined the importance of collaboration between Hadassah Medical Centre and Smile Train Africa , and of exchanging expertise to continually improve patient care.
The meeting continued with an opportunity for the participants to express their views, with each patient, parent or carer having the opportunity to talk about their personal experience of the social life of patients. These testimonies helped to highlight the challenges faced by patients and to share good practice implemented in different contexts.
This was followed by a consultation phase, enabling participants to interact with the various specialists present. In-depth discussions took place, encouraging the exchange of knowledge and expertise with a view to improving treatment protocols and ensuring the best possible outcomes for patients.
Finally, to round off this busy day, refreshments were offered to the children with cleft lip and/or palate, providing them with a moment of relaxation and conviviality. Photographs were also taken of the family and of the work sessions, to immortalise this meeting, which was rich in emotion and constructive exchanges.
This meeting on cleft lip and palate care was a valuable opportunity to strengthen commitment to patients and foster collaboration between the various stakeholders. It demonstrated the importance of working together to continually improve the care and well-being of people affected by this congenital malformation.
