Cleft Lips and Cleft Palates: 17 leading companies join forces
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Seventeen leading companies in Thailand have joined forces to aid children in need of cleft lips and palate treatments though Operation Smile.
They signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday to collaborate on the campaign “Bright Smiles & Happy Hearts” at the Okura Bangkok Hotel.
According to Operation Smile Foundation (Thailand), thousands of patients in remote regions of the country are waiting life-changing surgery to cure cleft lips and plates. The support from the alliance of 17 companies will help sustain surgery and preventive medicare services.
The companies are Total Access Communication (DTAC), Krungthai Card, Nation Multimedia Group, Indorama Ventures, Benchachinda Holding, SF Corporation , RICOH (Thailand) Ltd, Dusit International, AEON Thailand Foundation, Dailynews, Huawei Technologies (Thailand) Ltd, Bangkok Bank PCL, Eltek Power Co, Progressive Inter-Trade Co, Unique Telecom Co, TISCO Financial Group, and Jay Mart.
Kevin J Beauvais, chairman of Operation Smile Foundation (Thailand), said Operation Smile Thailand has helped over 8,000 underprivileged children to date by improving their lives through surgical interventions and other care provided by the foundation’s tireless volunteers.
“However, our data collection and analysis reveals that there are more patients, both registered and unregistered, waiting for medical attention. This means that there are still a large number of patients throughout the country whom we have not yet reached. The ‘Bright Smiles & Happy Hearts’ campaign is the result of Operation Smile Thailand’s data-gathering fieldwork and analysis of how we can best serve all patients,” he added.
Assistant Professor Dr Apichai Angspatt, Operation Smile Thailand’s Field Operations Director, said that approximately one in every 700 children is born with a cleft lip or a cleft palate; some children have both a cleft lip and a cleft palate. In Thailand, approximately 2,000 babies are born with a cleft lip or a cleft palate each year.
“A cleft lip or cleft palate may also contribute to other physical conditions such as hearing problems, chronic ear infections, malnutrition, dental problems, and speech impediments. A cleft condition may also affect a child's emotional and mental development, which can lead to additional problems in the future,” he said.
