Fadhili Dzimba, 12, from Kinango constituency, was asleep in the recovery ward at the Msambweni Referral Hospital in Kwale county. He had just come out of surgery that would transform his life.

Fadhili had grown up with a cleft lip, a birth defect that occurs when a baby’s lip or mouth do not form properly during pregnancy. His father, Salim Dzimba, said his son had a challenge in speech

“The boy is 12 years old, but the lip deformity gave him a challenge in his speech. His words were not pronounced clearly when speaking. Even teachers in schools kept on telling us we should take our son to special schools because of how he was talking. We were disappointed about it, but we are now hoping that the challenge has been treated,” he said.

Dzimba took advantage of the recently held medical camp that saw children in Kwale county receive cleft lip and cleft palate surgeries for free to have their son undergo the procedure.

These two are common birth defects or deformities that can that occur on their own or as part of a genetic condition or syndrome.

“This birth deformity is caused by malnutrition during pregnancy or even some environmental factors such as the use of cigarettes and alcohol by an expectant mother,” said Dr Meshach Onguti, a reconstructive and maxillofacial surgeon and leader of the team of 16 doctors from Nairobi for the four-day camp.

The earlier, the better

Dr Onguti noted that the lack of some minerals in foods that the expectant mother consumes contribute to malnutrition, which leads to deformity.

“It is important for the expectant mother to have a nutritious diet with full minerals. Because the baby in the womb is in the process of forming and during that process all the nutrients and minerals are required,” he said.

He also said lip and cleft palate is commonly observed in babies.

“In every 15 infants born, you get either three or four with lip cleft or cleft palate. Fortunately, the condition can be rectified through surgery depending on how serious it is because they also differ,” Dr Onguti said.

The surgeon added that the earlier the surgery is done for the child the better because as they grow up with the defect, they will experience a challenge in talking, and consuming drinks and foods.

Saumu Hussein Jembe, a resident of Kwale and a mother of an infant who went through the surgery, said she has had challenges in breastfeeding her baby because the milk chokes her.

“I’m very happy and thankful to the doctors because my husband and I did not know what to do. It got to a point I was even afraid of breastfeeding her,” she said, adding that it caused her stress and she ended up hating feeding the baby.

“I was even thinking of taking the baby to the grandmother so that she could assist me in raising her because I had given up on doing it by myself,” she said.

Dr Onguti explained that one of the main challenges in accessing this life-changing surgery is its cost. Most people cannot afford it, that is why the surgeries are often offered as free medical camp.

“We chose to have the free medical camp at Msambweni after a request by the governors of Jumuiya ya

Kaunti za Pwani, but we have also attended to patients from upcountry. They have travelled all the way from Nairobi, Eldoret, Naivasha for this free surgery camp,” he said.

The Jumuiya ya Kaunti za Pwani, the community of the six coastal counties, was formed to address arising issues locals in the coastal region are facing.

Chief Executive Officer and Secretariat Emmanuel Nzai noted that this time they decided to have the surgery camp at Msambweni Referral hospital in Kwale county.

“We have already had such camps in Kilifi, at the Coast general hospital, at Voi hospital in Taita Taveta so we always move around the whole coastal counties referral hospitals,” he said.

He urged locals to turn up whenever such medical camps are organised so that they can get assistance on health matters.

“Let the people take the opportunity for being attended in the medical camps when we organise because getting treatment individually is very expensive and most of them cannot afford it,” he said.

Vivian Asumba, 24, from Nairobi, travelled all the way to get the service during the camp. She had learnt about the camp through an advert.

“I have had a lot of challenges with the cleft lip deformity since I was born, so when I learnt about this free medical camp on social media I had to travel for the surgery,” Asumba said.

Asumba narrated that she had earlier inquired about such a surgery in the referral hospitals within Nairobi, but it was expensive for her family that’s why it took long for her to be treated.
Costly affair

“In the referral hospitals, we were told surgery would cost up to Sh250,000 and private hospitals charges were even higher at Sh1 million. It was very expensive, but I thank God for this free medical camp,” she said.

Asumba who had also travelled alone said she could not postpone coming over for the surgery even though her family was far away in Nairobi.

Dr Onguti added that surgery took long hours because most patients had both lip and cleft defects.

“In the four days medical camp my team and I managed to operate on 25 patients because one surgery takes up to three hours depending on how serious the deformity is,” he said.

He added that due to the short duration, those who booked late have been facilitated to get their surgeries in Nairobi free of charge.

Salim Chiro, seven, is a beneficiary of this project. He had travelled all the way from Kilifi county with his parents but arrived too late for the procedure.

His parents explained that they learned about the free medical camp, but were unable to travel as they wished due to financial challenges.

“I feel for these parents, but our time is over here in Msambweni, nevertheless I will give transport facilitation to them and my contacts so that they can come to Nairobi for the surgery. We will offer it free for the boy,” he said.

However, Dr Onguti urged governors from other counties to organise such medical surgery camps in their counties since there are many people affected with deformities.

He said it is much easier for a county government to organise for such camps than individuals taking their kind to private hospitals for the surgeries.

“We are ready to assist when called in other counties since it is part of our social corporate responsibility (SRC) my team and I will give back to the community since we are aware that there are many other Kenyans with such deformity but they cannot afford the surgery cost,” Dr Onguti said.