Urgent Appeal: Children With Cleft Lip and Palate

In November 2025, when we met Akilima, she was just ten months old. She was born with a cleft lip and for her mother the experience was frightening and overwhelming, ‘I did not know what was wrong with my baby. I felt afraid and ashamed.’ Whilst in her community, Akilima’s mother had heard that children born with cleft conditions could only be treated when they reach two years of age. Believing that she had no other option, she decided to hide her baby from their neighbours and wait in silence. ‘I decided to keep my child hidden until she became two years old and could be corrected.’

This isolation might have continued putting Akilima’s health and development at serious risk were it not for a house-to-house polio vaccination campaign conducted by health workers in her area who had received early identification training from Project Harar. ‘They reassured me that my child’s condition was treatable; they told me to bring her for care the next day’

Akilima was referred and enrolled in Project Harar’s Early Intervention Programme, which supports infants born with cleft conditions through early identification, nutritional support, caregiver counselling, and referral for surgery. Akilima was provided with milk to improve her nutrition and help her gain weight and continue to receive milk until the day of surgery. 

‘Now I am very happy, when I see my child’s lip corrected, my heat is at peace’

Akilima’s mother no longer hides her and speaks openly about her experience, encouraging other mothers to seek help early rather than waiting in fear and isolation.

Selam arrived at Gamby hospital to receive treatment for her cleft condition with both of her parents who are farmers in Amhara. Selam’s mother shared her experience as follows;

‘I was the first to give birth to a child with a cleft lip in our family and because of her condition my family shunned me and left me to raise Selam by myself. I was sad and became moody about my baby.’

‘Our community believes in this case in different ways, such as an act of God, an evil spirit, or a punishment related to wrong-doing by my family.When I go to market, straight away people ask me to explain my child’s condition. Sometimes I don’t want to talk about it so because of this I always fear entering public spaces. Furthermore, my child always has difficulty eating
because she cannot chew or swallow comfortably.Therefore she cannot eat the food that she wants and most of the time I have to give her soft foods and liquid foods.’

Selam’s mother told us ‘Project Harar has solved my problems and given my daughter a good service, so I am very excited about the treatment and Selam’s future.’