Project for the treatment of cleft lip and palate in Indonesia

Eni Foundation is collaborating with Smile Train Italia in Indonesia to create a center of excellence for the surgical treatment and therapy of cleft lip and palate, with the aim of promoting in the country full autonomy in the treatment of children with severe congenital facial malformations.

The three-year initiative will be centered in the East Kalimantan region, on the island of Borneo, where cases of congenital facial malformation are particularly widespread (as they are in the rest of the country) and where the shortage of local healthcare facilities and of specialist medical surgeons does not allow for its adequate treatment.

The project involves the organization of surgical missions, with the transfer in Italy of those patients who cannot be treated locally; the supply of medical and surgical equipment and materials; the intensive specialized training of local medical personnel; awareness building campaigns aimed at informing the population of the possibility of receiving free treatment for children with facial malformations.

The center will be created at Tarakan’s Provincial Hospital, which is a high standard facility but not adequate for treating cleft lip and palate.  Once set up and adequately fitted with surgical equipment and the medical personnel trained, the center can become a focal point of excellence for the region.