Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. INNSCOR Africa Limited, in partnership with Global Cleft and Cranio-Facial Foundation, recently spearheaded a series of cleft lip operation camps meant to improve the lives of many children across Zimbabwe.
Cleft lip and palate are considered some of the most common congenital abnormalities, with birth prevalence rates ranging from 1/1 000 to 2,69/1 000 births.
Through Innscor Africa’s health subsidiary, Providence Health and Wellness, eight camps were conducted, offering screening, surgical intervention and post-operative care for children affected by cleft lip and palate.
Children with cleft lip and palate often require comprehensive medical care, including surgical intervention, orthodontic treatment, speech therapy and psychological support.
According to Providence Health and Wellness’ Tapiwanashe Kusotera, Innscor Africa aims to increase the number of surgeries to cater for desperate families across Zimbabwe.
“The initial goal is to increase the scale and frequency of the operations from the current quarterly camps to potentially once every two months, to try and clear the national backlog,” he said.
Paida Gurupira said the programme was a journey meant to give patients hope and comfort, as all costs would be covered by the sponsor, not the patients.
“At Providence Health and Wellness, we can sponsor and truly offer these surgeries to children free of charge. And when I say they are free, they are free. The parents do not pay for anything,” she said.
“We are sponsoring everything from the medication to the food that the patients will receive. Most of these patients come from far-flung districts, far from Harare.”
Innscor Africa chairperson Addington Chinake said since the programme started, the partnership had scaled up screening programmes to identify more patients and families.
“We believe in life-changing social responsibility, especially when it comes to the underprivileged and less fortunate members of our communities in our small way,” he said.
A total of 263 children have been screened since the start of the camps, with 185 children admitted for surgery, while 181 were successful.
At the recent camp in early April, 33 children were screened and 24 were successfully operated on.
“These camps not only help children to rediscover their voices but also empower them with healthy, confident smiles — making life brighter for families nationwide,” Chinake said.
Boniface Tshuma from Lower Gweru, whose seven-month-old son Ronald benefited from the operation, expressed gratitude to Innscor Africa.
“At first, we were seen at Gweru Hospital after our child was born with a left cleft palate. As a family, we accepted it, but we were concerned about how we would manage it.
“We worried about the expenses, but we discovered that our burden had been lifted by Innscor Africa through its health subsidiary, Providence Health and Wellness. We were instructed to travel to Harare with the baby for surgery.
“All the procedures performed during the surgery would have been expensive for us, but thanks to Providence Health and Wellness, the journey was easy and we are truly grateful.”
Marry Mugari also hailed the programme that assisted her two-year-old son, Byron Mugocha.
“As parents, we were not able to manage this on our own. Looking back to when he joined this programme, everything I needed was provided for; I did not lack anything.”
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