New Delhi: Mankind Pharma Ltd., one of India's fastest growing pharmaceutical companies, announced a partnership with Smile Train India, the world's largest children's cleft charity, to support 100 cleft lip and palate reconstructive surgeries for underprivileged children.

In India, 35,000 children are born with cleft lip and/or palate every year' most cannot afford the surgery and are forced to live a life of isolation.

In addition, Mankind Pharma Ltd. will support Smile Train India in creating awareness about treatment and cleft care for babies, conducting outreach and identifying patients across the country. The initiative would also be promoted in Mankind Pharma Ltd.'s wide network of 30,000 gynaecologists across the country, including remote areas of Jammu and Kashmir and North Eastern states.

This would further enable Smile Train India provide the free, life transforming cleft lip and palate reconstructive surgeries to many more underprivileged children born with clefts.

Speaking about the partnership, Mamta Carroll, Vice President and Regional Director-South Asia, Smile Train India, shared, "Smile Train India is excited to join hands with Mankind Pharma for this unique partnership. Along with funding support, Mankind Pharma is helping us strengthen our outreach and awareness initiatives through their large network of professionals, especially, gynaecologists.

We look forward to working with them to contribute to the joint vision of enabling a better healthcare infrastructure by empowering local doctors and hospitals to provide safe and quality treatment. A child born with a cleft needs holistic treatment going beyond cleft surgery and our aim is to bring best of cleft care to communities, free of cost."

Talking about the partnership, Mr. Sheetal Arora (M.D), Mankind Pharma Ltd. shared, "Since inception, 'serving humanity' has been the motto of Mankind Pharma and partnership with Smile Train India is going to be a milestone to support the same and will help bring back smiles to the affected children in India."

Smile Train India is an International children's charity with a sustainable approach to a single, solvable problem: cleft lip and palate. In India, over 35,000 children are born with clefts every year and over 10 lakh children with untreated clefts live in isolation, but more importantly, have difficulty eating, breathing and speaking.

Cleft repair surgery is simple, and the transformation is immediate. Since the year 2000, Smile Train's sustainable model provides training, funding and resources to empower local doctors and hospitals across India to provide 100%-free cleft repair surgery and comprehensive cleft care in their own communities.

This 'teach a man to fish' strategy has enabled Smile Train India to provide over 4,90,000 free surgeries through a network of 160 partner hospitals.

Cleft Facts: India
Every year, 35,000 children in India are born with clefts
Less than 50% of cleft children get treatment due to ignorance and poverty
10 lakh children in India with untreated clefts live a life of isolation, bullied and teased for their appearance
More importantly, the children have difficulty in breathing, eating and speaking
A surgery which takes 45 minutes can correct this birth defect