GUWAHATI: Hundred children with cleft deformities from Meghalaya have been selected for free surgeries at the Guwahati Comprehensive Cleft Care Centre here under a MoU inked between Indian Oil Corporation Ltd and Mission Smile on Tuesday.
Under the agreement, IOCL will also provide funds for the additional 50 per cent cost of surgeries of 200 patients from Assam.
“All the 300 surgeries have to be completed by February 2019 under the agreement. So far, we have selected 30 cleft patients from South Garo Hills in Meghalaya and about 50 cleft patients from Assam,” senior manager (programme), Mission Smile, told The Shillong Times here on Tuesday.
The MoU was signed on behalf of IOCL by K. Mohan, DGM (RS), Guwahati Divisional Office in presence of U. Bhattacharyya, chief general manager (IndianOil AOD State Office) and Dr Hiteswar Sarma, medical director and general manager, Mission Smile.
IOCL sources said that a sum of Rs 45lakh has been sponsored for the 300 surgeries under its CSR programme.
IOCL had in 2016 sponsored the additional 50 cost of cleft surgeries for 204 patients from Assam.
According to Mission Smile sources, the cost of a surgery at the centre here is Rs 35,000, of which Rs 17,500 is provided by the state government and the additional cost is borne from sponsors such as PSUs and other donors.
“Our plan for Northeast is to completely clear the backlog of cleft patients who are above five years old. In Meghalaya (where Mission Smile targets 300 surgeries every month), we are targeting three years to remove this backlog while in the other states we are eyeing five years for the same,” Malakar said.
Mission Smile currently has tie-ups with governments of three Northeast states – Assam (since 2010), Meghalaya (since 2012) and Tripura (2015), where it has been easier for the organisation to intervene with 50 per cent government support assured for the surgeries and PSUs coming up to support in the respective states.
“So, we would like to appeal to the other Northeast states to tie-up with us so that we can approach PSUs and other donors for meeting the additional 50 per cent cost of the surgeries. We are also planning to submit a proposal to IOCL for such support in other states of the region,” he said.
States implementing Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram, he said, have an allotted fund of Rs 18000 per surgery, which can be utilized through an association
“We have been trying to make people aware of our centre where we provide comprehensive cleft care both before and after the free surgery. Often there is a fear among parents of over five-year-old children with such deformities. In places like Garo Hills, we have problems of language and terrain. But our endeavour in the coming years would be to reach out to the interiors for which we have engaged local volunteers,” Malakar said.
Currently, there is a backlog of 30 to 40 per cent of surgeries of over five-year-old patients in the Northeast. “The positive trend is that such backlog has come down significantly over the years in the Northeast,” Dr Sarma, medical director and general manager, Mission Smile, told The Shillong Times.
The Guwahati Comprehensive Cleft Care Centre has since 2009 provided safe and free reconstructive surgeries and comprehensive cleft care to as many as 18,700 patients.