Kids With Cleft Lip And Palate Are Being Murdered

A kid with Cleft lip and Palate

By Ohemeng Tawiah

Children born with cleft lip and palate deformities in Ghana continue to be denied the right to live with their parents who kill them in the name of avoiding stigma.

Though figures are not readily available, doctors say substantial numbers of children with such conditions are killed by the day.

The Ghana Cleft Foundation describes the development as disturbing, especially, when modern medicine provides an opportunity to correct deformities.

About 400 children are born with cleft lip and palate in Ghana each year.

The Ghana Cleft Foundation was established ten years ago with the task of addressing challenges associated with cleft lip and palate.

It also provides treatment support for patients, through increased advocacy.

At least, 250 children with cleft lip and palate have their condition corrected each year at the Cleft Clinic of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.

Despite such intervention, officials say many children are killed because of socio-cultural beliefs which brand them river babies.

They are said to be associated with curses or bad omen for their parents and community.

Professor Peter Donkor is President of the Ghana Cleft Foundation.

He tells Nhyira Fm the rate at which cleft lip and palate babies are murdered and stigmatized can only be blamed on public ignorance.

“That shows you the level of ignorance about it and the stigmatization.

Yes, they still do that. They still kill these kids. The extent of ignorance is quiet extreme”, worried Professor Donkor explained.

Doctors at the Cleft Clinic are currently undecided over the state of a baby born with cleft lip and palate whose parents have rejected.

The parents say allowing the child to live amount to taboo because it will bring witches to their community.

They insist such children don’t live, but must die.

The situation has given doctors sleepless nights.

“We have a child the dad and the mum they don’t want to take that child into the community. They believe that if the child comes to the village, it will attract witches into the village. So now what we are faced with now is we can repair the lip, but what happens to the baby after repairing the lip? Who takes care of that baby? Professor Donkor quizzed.

For a hint of what parents of cleft children go through, Francis Alhassan, a resident of Nkawkaw in the Eastern Region echoes same sentiments.

 He had been under pressure from friends to end his only child’s life for cleft lip and palate conditions.

Thanks to the Cleft Clinic KATH, the deformity has been corrected, and Alhassan is elated at his son’s transformation.

According to Professor Donkor, caregivers and advocates who are overwhelmed by the level of stigmatization will not give up on the fight.

He says they will continue to seek support of corporate bodies and other stakeholders to intensify public education.

“We have to respect the believe system of our people. We have may have to work with the community leaders; the imams, priests, fetish priests to find a way of talking to our people and educating them so that they change that kind of thinking and give these children a chance to live”

Meanwhile, mobile telecommunication giant, MTN is putting smiles on the faces of cleft lip patients.

 The company has disbursed about Gh¢ 22,000 to support of treatment and advocacy programs of the Ghana Cleft Foundation this year.

The company has capped its activities for the year with a party in Kumasi for beneficiary cleft patients and their families.

Editorial

Backwardness

The disclosure that the children with cleft lip and palate, are being murdered on a regular basis on account of superstition must be extremely worrying for decent society.

It is an indication of how backwardness Ghana has become, even in the year 2015.

 But it is surprising when our radio and television stations are blaring with messages blaming the devil and its associates for all the difficulties confronting the nation.

Murder is murder and unlawful and we urge  the society agencies to investigate those claims with vigour and deal drastically with those involved in the Commission of such crimes.

The state must protect all children from backward demented adults and religious zealots