Our mission

Cleft lip and palate

Today, 1-in-700 babies in the UK are born with a cleft lip and palate, the most common form of birth defect.

The impact on a child’s life as they grow is profound. Typically, they will need at least four operations. They may also require ongoing tests, treatment or therapy. It will affect the way they look but also their speech, hearing and dental development. It can leave deep psychological scars.

In the developing world, cleft patients are frequently not operated on until later in life, if at all. As a result, they may be malnourished, and unable to talk well or hear properly. Often, they will be social outcasts.

Clefts occur when the upper lip, gum or roof of the mouth fails to join normally when a baby is in the womb. We do not know much about why they occur, though it is likely to be due to a combination of genetic and environmental factors. We know some of the causes, such as the tongue preventing the two halves of the palate from joining, but in most cases there is no obvious explanation.

Our mission

We are a charity focused on providing permanent, sustainable ways to improve cleft care in both the UK and overseas.

Supporting a variety of projects, we are helping improve the lives of people born with clefts in many different ways. Broadly speaking, they can be described in two categories.

Firstly through our sponsorship of research projects in the UK, we are helping to identify the likely causes of clefts, and to find ways in which to improve the treatment and outcomes for children born with a cleft.

And secondly our projects in other countries aim to support local medical teams to provide long-term treatment and care for people less privileged born with clefts.

Research projects

A core principle of CLEFT is to invest in research projects that study the cause and treatment of clefts. When it comes to clefts, there is still so much that is unknown.

The progression of knowledge and understanding of clefts is therefore a key component in improving the methods used by surgeons, speech therapists and other medical professionals, to treat and provide quality, long-term care for all people born with clefts, both in the UK and overseas.

Find out more about our research projects

Overseas projects

CLEFT works with local surgeons and other specialists in several lower income countries to help them develop high quality, multidisciplinary CLEFT centres.

We do this by visiting and working with local teams regularly, helping to provide education and training, and donating much-needed equipment.

We do not send large teams to operate on a number of babies and leave after 10 days. Our visits are by selected UK cleft specialists who are invited by the local team to visit, primarily for teaching, collaboration and support.

Our goal is to support local teams so that children born with clefts in these countries will have the same opportunities of having quality cleft care as those in the UK.

Find out more about our overseas projects

If you would like to get in touch with CLEFT, you can do so by completing the quick contact form below.

CONTACT FORM

Latest

Javid's 10k Fundraising Run

My son Elvin was born with a cleft lip in 2024. But thanks to the NHS, we got world class care and the result was unrecognisable. Sometimes we remember the fact that he used to have a cleft and we miss his huge carefree cleft smile. But unfortunately not every child has access to the same professional support. It is Elvin's 2nd birthday this week, so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to run 10k fundraising for CLEFT - to help other children across the world, bridging the gap.
LF1 Cleft Charity

We are raising money with the LF1 division of the Cleft Charity at Charles University, Prague, to support sustainable, long-term improvements in cleft care. Through fundraising and awareness initiatives at LF1, we aim to contribute to the main UK Cleft Charity’s mission of improving access to cleft treatment, multidisciplinary care, and support services for patients and families both in the UK and internationally.
London Marathon 2027

1.33 million people applied for the London Marathon 2027. For the first time ever CLEFT has a guaranteed place. We are looking for someone incredible to run the London Marathon for CLEFT. Could that person be you?
Sarah’s 10K for Cleft UK

I am raising money to provide long-term, sustainable ways to improve cleft care both in the UK and overseas.

Donate to CLEFT

You can make a one-off donation today or sign up to giving a regular monthly gift. All donations, small or large, will help us to improve the lives of those born with cleft lip and palate both now and in the future.
National Institute of Burns and Plastic Surgery

We are working with Bangladeshi specialists at the new National Institute of Burns and Plastic Surgery to create a sustainable centre to treat children with cleft lip and palate.
Our mission

CLEFT was established in 2007 with one aim, to help improve the lives of children born with cleft lip and palate, either by funding research into the likely causes of the condition or by helping support teams in lower and middle income countries.
Nawrin and the C-Arm

This important piece of equipment was supplied by CLEFT and is used to see moving images of the cleft palate. Nawrin is a 13 year old girl who was experiencing speech difficulties and needed the C-Arm to show the cleft team if further surgery was required.
About us

CLEFT was established in 2007 by cleft surgeon Brian Sommerlad - based at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, together with a former patient and a patient's grandmother.
The genetics of cleft lip and palate

Investigations into the genetics of cleft lip and palate to understand more about why cleft lip and palate occurs.
Brian Sommerlad, Consultant Plastic Surgeon and Chair of Trustees

For over 40 years, I have been involved in operating on babies, children and adults who have been born with cleft lip and/or palate.
Our research vision

At CLEFT, our vision is of a future where clefts are preventable. Until we get there, we want to improve the lives of those born with cleft lip and palate.
Trusts and Foundations

Today, 1-in-700 babies in the UK are born with a cleft lip and palate, the most common form of birth defect. The impact on a child’s life as they grow is profound. Typically, they will need at least four operations. They may also require ongoing tests, treatment or therapy. It will affect the way they look but also their speech, hearing and dental development. It can leave deep psychological scars.
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