In collaboration with Mission Smile, CreditAccess India Foundation (CAIF), the CSR division of CreditAccess Grameen Ltd (CA Grameen), India’s biggest microfinance institution (NBFC-MFI), has introduced Grameen Smile, a cleft lip and palate surgery program at H.P. Ghosh Hospital in Kolkata. The initiative’s goal is to give children from low-income families free, secure, and all-encompassing cleft care.

Through the initiative, eligible children in West Bengal and Odisha will have easier access to corrective cleft lip and palate surgeries, related medical care, and post-operative follow-up. A minimum of 100 free cleft surgeries—50 in the West Bengal district of Kolkata and 50 in the Odisha district of Khordha—for children between the ages of six months and eighteen will be supported under the program.

Untreated cleft lip and palate can hinder a child’s ability to eat and get enough nutrition, postpone the development of speech, and lead to social exclusion at school and beyond. By providing comprehensive cleft care to kids who might otherwise find it difficult to get timely treatment, Grameen Smile aims to close this gap.

The program expands on CAIF’s expanding healthcare portfolio, which has already benefited over 31,000 people through earlier initiatives. These include multi-cancer and general health screening camps that have reached over 25,000 people in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka, as well as the vaccination of over 6,000 rural schoolgirls against cervical cancer in collaboration with regional Zilla Parishads and NGOs. With Grameen Smile, CAIF is extending its healthcare initiatives to include specialized surgical care, reiterating its dedication to making sure that children’s access to prompt, high-quality healthcare is not hampered by financial limitations.

For more details, visit: https://www.creditaccessgrameen.in/csr/

Priyanka Dutta