HÀ NỘI — Nearly 100 disadvantaged children born with cleft lips, cleft palates in the north of Việt Nam will get free surgeries through a medical charity mission.

The charity mission is supported by Vietnam International Bank (VIB) and Operation Smile Vietnam (OSV).

The mission will take place at the Vietnam Cuba Friendship Hospital in the capital city until Friday, VIB said in its statement.

Patients will be provided free surgeries, along with travel allowance, and food and medical assistance while staying at the hospital. The post-operative checking will be free of charge at specific time, including one week, six months, and one year after operation.

Over the past years, VIB has accompanied OSV on a pathway to change the lives of disadvantaged children born with cleft lips and cleft palates by providing free and safe surgeries. It is one of the activities undertaken by VIB to contribute to the community, aiming to contribute to the socio-economic development in general and improve the quality of life for under-privileged people in particular.

In 2017 alone, the bank joined hands with OSV to provide medical consultations and free surgeries for nearly 200 children with cleft lips and cleft palates through several medical missions conducted in various provinces nation-wide.

The two sides have also provided phonetics training for nearly 400 families of patients across the country.

Việt Nam is one of the countries with the highest proportion of children with cleft lips and cleft palates in the world.

According to preliminary statistics, some 3,000 children were born with facial deformity (1/700 ratio) in the country each year, along with approximately 10,000 patients who have not been operated on around the country. Meanwhile, it takes as little as 45 minutes to repair a cleft lip or a cleft palate, changing a child’s life forever. — VNS