Cleft Lip and Palate is the most common congenital facial deformity in the world. Approximately 1 in 500-600 children are affected, meaning that thousands of cleft children per year are born in East Africa. Cleft Lip and Palate is present in every country and in all sections of society.
Cleft deformations can vary considerably. They can occur as a cleft lip either on one side of the face (unilateral) or on both sides of the upper lip (bilateral), as a cleft palate, cleft lip and palate or cleft lip and maxilla. Other types of cranio-facial clefts such as lateral clefts or facial clefts are rarer. The combined deformation of cleft lip and palate account for seventy per cent of the cases.
Simple cleft lip
Cleft palate
Left-hand lip and maxilla cleft
Transverse cranio-facial cleft with partial loss of eye
Full cleft of lip and maxilla
Cleft lips and palates develop from the fourth week of pregnancy when the separate parts of the face begin joining together starting from the outside and proceeding inwards. The various types of clefts are then the result.
Cleft Africa is member of THE CLEFT GROUP, which is led by the German NGO Deutsche Cleft Kinderhilfe and its partners. The common goal is to provide comprehensive care for cleft children at the highest possible level, whereever it may be needed.
