Iraq

A new venture has started between CLEFT and the Centre for Cleft Lip and Palate Surgery In Sulaimania, the Kurdish region of Iraq to help develop multidisciplinary care for children born with cleft lip and palate and associated conditions.

Initially, this collaboration would primarily be to teach and train the surgeons and hospital staff. There is one speech therapist who is only able to work for one day in the cleft centre so this is one area that CLEFT could make a difference in. CLEFT may also be able to assist in providing equipment and teaching material.

CLEFT’s Ongoing Work in Sulaimania

CLEFT has strengthened its partnership with the Sulaimania cleft centre in the Kurdish region of Iraq. During his November visit, Brian Sommerlad attended a clinic where Julie Davies and Marie Pinkstone joined via Zoom to discuss treatment plans with Nuzad, Iraq’s only speech and language therapist. Julie continues to collaborate with him online. Brian and Sara Rashid, President of Kurdistan Save the Children, signed a memorandum of understanding, paving the way for exciting future initiatives. Read more

A New Era of Cleft Care in Iraq

Niza was a 3 month-old baby with an incomplete bilateral cleft (partial double-sided) lip and cleft palate. The first operation was to repair the lip and the front of the palate. The rest of the palate will be repaired by the team in Sulaimania in 3-6 months' time. Read more

New microscope unveiled in Iraq

Brian Sommerlad recently returned from his tenth visit to the cleft centre in Sulaimania in the Kurdish region of Iraq where he was able to attend the unveiling of the new operating microscope, donated by CLEFT. Read more

C-Arm in cleft centre in Sulaimania

CLEFT recently purchased an important piece of equipment called a C-Arm, for the cleft centre in Sulaimania, thanks to a very generous donation by a private donor. The C-Arm records the function of the palate where it is not functioning properly, either after cleft palate repair or in some people who have not had a cleft. This helps the speech and language therapists and surgeons to make decisions on treatment. Read more

Centre in Sulaimania leading the way in cleft care

CLEFT chairman, Brian Sommerlad, has visited Sulaimania in the Kurdish region of Iraq every year since 2012. He works with the local team in the Emergency Hospital where progress is being made all the time. Dr Luqman and Dr Shaxawan are pictured here at the entrance to the new clinic. Read more

Sulaimania's first multi-disciplinary cleft team

Sulaimania's troubled past means that there are many children and adults with untreated clefts or with clefts that have been operated on inadequately. Click the link above to read further and watch our new film by Paul Whittaker to see what the situation is there and how the team copes. Read more

CLEFT in the Kurdish region of Iraq

CLEFT has recently been involved with visiting the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan where conditions such as cleft lip and palate have been neglected in recent years. Read more

Latest

Jamie’s inflatable 5k for cleft

I am raising money to provide long-term, sustainable ways to improve cleft care both in the UK and overseas.
Kurchi's Inflatable 5K for CLEFT

A slightly silly challenge for an important cause: supporting children with cleft conditions with CLEFT.
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.

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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