On the eve of World Smile Day, The Himalaya Drug Company, a leading wellness company, rolled out its flagship social impact initiative, Muskaan, in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, with an objective to spread awareness about cleft lip and palate conditions. In partnership with Smile Train, the world’s leading cleft organization, the initiative will support free life-saving cleft treatment to children in need.
Through the campaign, Ek Nayi Muskaan, Himalaya Lip Care will focus on spreading awareness around cleft lip and palate treatment at the grassroots level. The campaign kickstarted with a heart-warming video capturing the inspirational story of eight-year-old Munmun. The film portrays how Munmun’s life was transformed with a safe cleft surgery.
Ek Nayi Muskaan is very close to our hearts, and we believe it truly embodies our brand spirit of spreading happiness through wellness. We, at Himalaya, continue to put in our efforts to change lives in the true sense. In the new normal, we have incorporated the latest guidelines to ensure our commitment towards the cause remains undeterred. Through our partnership with Smile Train India, we have been bringing smiles to a lot of families across India in the past five years by facilitating free cleft surgeries for their children. Our endeavor is to continue transforming the lives of many more children living with cleft and help them achieve their dreams,” said Rajesh Krishnamurthy, Business Director-Consumer Products Division, The Himalaya Drug Company.
As part of the initiative, a multimedia awareness campaign has started reaching out to people across Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Smile Train India’s toll-free Cleft Helpline, 1800-103-8301, is available for people to enquire about cleft and avail free cleft treatment.
Highlighting the need to generate awareness around cleft and the importance of early medical intervention, Mamta Carroll, Vice President & Regional Director Asia, Smile Train, said, “Every year in India, more than 35,000 babies are born with a cleft. This can greatly impact their ability to thrive, as having an untreated cleft can cause difficulties in eating, breathing, hearing, and speaking. There is a lack of awareness that cleft can often be treated with a safe surgery. With enhanced safety guidelines to protect both patients and health workers, our partner hospitals across Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh are now slowly resuming cleft surgeries and we are supporting free treatment for cleft patients. We are proud of our partnership with The Himalaya Drug Company, which has brought smiles to many children with cleft across India in the past five years.”
This year’s campaign witnessed Arjuna awardee and Commonwealth Gold Medalist, Geeta Phogat, who extended her support to the initiative. “As a wrestler, I have faced multiple challenges throughout my journey, but never let go of my dreams. Every child has a dream, and the ability to achieve the dream should not be limited by a medical condition like cleft. I am extremely happy to be associated with Muskaan, which has been helping children lead a healthy, happy, and fulfilling life. Such initiatives show how a simple surgery can transform the life of children and help them discover a better future,” said Geeta Phogat.
Himalaya is one of the leading brands in the Lip Care category. Himalaya Lip Care has been consistently spearheading cleft care awareness and making efforts towards bringing many more smiles to children across the country through Muskaan. In addition to creating awareness, Rs. 3 is contributed towards Muskaan with the sale of every Himalaya Lip Care product. Himalaya Lip Care has been conducting awareness campaigns annually and is committed to reaching out to as many children as possible and spreading awareness about cleft.
