Jobaida was born on April 4th, 2022 with a cleft lip and palate. She received lip surgery on August 8, 2022, palate surgery on March 22, 2023.
We have been active in Bangladesh since 2010. Since then, Bangladesh has become one of our main project countries.
Between 2010 and 2022, we provided more than 12,444 surgeries to cleft children in Bangladesh.
In 2023, we funded 1,955 cleft surgeries in Bangladesh.
Our work in Bangladesh began in 2010 and has since steadily grown in scope, from an initial 300 operations per year to almost 1,800 in 2022. A partnership with the Australian aid organization Operation Cleft Australia (OCA) expanded our treatment teams and our capacity to help. Today, Bangladesh is a key focus country of our work.
In Bangladesh, there are only few doctors trained to treat children with cleft lip and palate. We are therefore particularly pleased with the successful progress of our advanced surgical training program, which was launched in 2021. After two years of training, our two junior surgeons have become permanent members of our Bangladeshi team. One of them, Dr. Masfiquer, now leads his own team as part of our Cleft Bangladesh project.
In 2023, we were able to provide 1,955 cleft surgeries to patients under the Cleft Bangladesh umbrella. In terms of the number of surgeries, this makes Bangladesh the largest project country of Deutsche Cleft Kinderhilfe after India.
In Bangladesh, rural people are often very afraid of entrusting their children to doctors and going to the city for medical treatment. Our goal is to gain the parents' trust and convince them that the treatment will help their child live a better life. To this end, social workers go from village to village and draw attention to our help.
In view of the high number of operations, our medium-term goal is to provide our patients with access to further treatments beyond the operations. With the help of our experience and experts from India, we have launched a project to develop a speech therapy concept.
News from Bangladesh
Cleft surgery mission by Dr. Zaman in Rangpur, 27.-29. July 2022. 31 patients received surgery. Patients are standing outside the hospital.A total of five surgical teams are currently working with us in Bangladesh. Dr. Mohammad Quamruzzaman (short form: Dr. Zaman) is our most veteran surgeon - he has been working with us from the first day. Dr. Sayeed Ahmed Siddiky and Dr. Abhi Kimar Chakraborty joined the team in 2018. With the addition of Dr. Mohammad Mazharul Haque (called Dr. Imran), we were able to further expand our capacity to provide cleft surgeries in Bangladesh in 2022. In early 2023, Dr. Al Masum Ziaul Haque, who operated alongside Dr. Zaman for many years, started his own team. Another surgeon, Dr. Masfiquer, completed a trainee program we intiated, and started his own team as our sixth surgeon. Another surgeon, Dr. Shantona Rani, is nearing the completion of her traineeship and will soon begin providing cleft surgeries under the Cleft Bangladesh umbrella as well.
Since 2018, the Australian aid organization Operation Cleft Australia (OCA) has made an invaluable contribution to the development of our projects in Bangladesh. And the local organization Syed Nuruddin Ahmed Development Foundation (SNADF) is responsible for administration on the ground. The German surgeon Dr. Ulrike Lamlé supports our aid project in Bangladesh as a volunteer.
Dr. Zaman with a little patient.
Dr Masum with a patient.
Dr. Ulrike Lamlé with Dr. Masum (left) and Dr. Zaman (right)
Dr Imran (right) with team members and a patient.
Dr. Siddiky (left) in Dhaka.
Dr. Abi Kumar Chakraborty
Dr. Shantona Rani, trainee Cleft Bangladesh.
Dr. Masfiquer Rahman, Cleft Bangladesh trainee program alumnus and our newest Cleft Bangladesh cleft surgery team leader.
“The need for help in Bangladesh is immense. So many children still wait for their surgery. Our local teams – the surgeons, anesthetists, nurses – do amazing work. I am grateful to be part of this vital aid effort.”
Dr. Ulrike Lamlé
Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna are the three great rivers of the country. They are the livelihood of countless Bangladeshis and at the same time represent a great danger. In the rainy season between June and September, the monsoon regularly leads to heavy flooding. The population then suffers widespread destruction.
Bangladesh is known for its textile industry, which, along with the agricultural sector, is one of the country's most important economic sectors and provides work for many people. The working conditions are often life-threatening. The minimum wage of about $113 per month is barely enough to survive.
Most children attend elementary school, but only very few of them stay until they graduate. The number of illiterates is correspondingly high: Only about 75 percent of the adult population can read and write.
A new life for a child
The surgery is a key turning point in the life of a child with cleft. With your donation, you help change a child's life for the better.
Any amount helps.
Für ein neues Kinderleben
Die Operation ist ein entscheidender Wendepunkt im Leben eines Kindes mit Spaltbildung. Mit Ihrer Spende tragen Sie dazu bei, das Leben eines Kindes zum Guten zu wenden.
Jeder Betrag hilft.
