Emphasising the importance of early diagnosis and specialised treatment for children born with cleft lip and cleft palate disorders, Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dinesh Gundu Rao on Thursday said the State government was working to ensure comprehensive cleft care.

Speaking after inaugurating Indocleftcon 2026 organised by the Indian Society of Cleft Lip Palate and Craniofacial Anomalies (ISCLPCA) at the All India Institute of Speech and Hearing campus in Mysuru, the Minister said delayed intervention and lack of awareness towards the treatment for cleft lip and cleft palate often result in complications among the children.

Calling for greater awareness in villages and smaller towns, Mr. Rao stressed that frontline health workers should identify affected children during field visits and guide families towards proper treatment facilities.

He said treatment for cleft conditions extends beyond surgery and requires coordinated support from surgeons, orthodontists, speech therapists and other specialists to ensure both physical and psychological development of children.

The Minister also praised the efforts of Smile Train, adding that the organisation has supported more than seven lakh cleft surgeries in India over the last two decades.

On the difficulties faced by poor families in accessing specialised treatment in cities such as Bengaluru, he said the government and private organisations were working together to make advanced cleft care available in Mysuru itself.

Referring to the conference theme “Connect, Communicate and Collaborate”, Mr. Rao said governments, medical institutions, and voluntary organisations must work together to effectively address congenital craniofacial disorders.

The Smile Train south asia regional director, Renu Mehta, said the organisation has supported more than two million cleft surgeries globally since 1999, including over 7.5 lakh in India over the past 26 years. She said the Smile Train partners with local hospitals and surgeons and has formal collaborations with 13 Indian States to strengthen quality cleft care.

She added that recent training workshops had provided hands-on alveolar bone graft surgery training to 30 young surgeons to expand expertise beyond a few specialised centres.

ISCLPCA honorary secretary Preetham Shetty said the association, founded 25 years ago with five members, has grown into a 650-member multidisciplinary body comprising surgeons, speech pathologists, orthodontists, paediatricians, anaesthetists and neurosurgeons.

As part of its silver jubilee celebrations, the association is preparing an open-access textbook on cleft lip and palate treatment with contributions from experts in India and abroad. The book is estimated to cost nearly ₹25 lakh.

ISCLPCA president M. Pushpavathi and other delegates were present.