The Management Committee meeting and working group meetings for the COST Action CA16234: European cleft and Craniofacial initiative for equality in care (ECCE) took place in Talinn, Estonia on October 22, 2021. 

Over 30 participants attended from 30 partner countries. The representatives from the University of Malta were Professor Helen Grech from the Department of Communication Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Professor Jean Calleja Agius from the Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery and Dr Gabriella Gatt from the Faculty of Dentistry. 

This COST Action brings together specialists in obstetrics, anatomy, speech therapy, psychology, dentists, orthodontists, paediatric surgeons and nurses in order to enhance the research related to cleft lip and palate and craniofacial anomalies.

Approximately 900,000 children, adults and their families are affected by these specific types of congenital anomalies across Europe. However, the provision of care for children with cleft lip and/or palate and craniofacial anomalies, and their families, varies markedly across Europe. The ‘gold standard’ of multidisciplinary care is available only to a small minority. 

The consortium, which is led by Prof Martin Jens Persson from the University of Kristianstad in Sweden, includes a combination of “players” in research, health care delivery and training expertise together with the international NGO, the European Cleft Palate Organisation (ECO). 

As a result of this COST Action, an ERASMUS + project, entitled SCR4Cleft, has started, led by the ECO Executive Director, Gareth Davies. The next meeting for SCR4Cleft will be hosted by the Maltese partners in Malta in December 2021. 

For further information on the COST Action ECCE please contact Prof Helen Grech, Prof Jean Calleja-Agius or visit the website.