LAHORE: Pakistani doctors in the eastern city of Lahore on Sunday performed lifesaving surgeries on two Afghan children suffering from congenital heart diseases (CHD), the first among 40 children whose treatment is being facilitated by Pakistani and Afghan non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Around 7,000 children in Afghanistan suffer from CHD, with more than 1,000 of them registered since the start of 2021 awaiting treatment inside or outside the war-torn country. Congenital heart diseases are present at birth and can affect the structure of a newborn’s heart and the way it works. They can affect the blood flow through the heart and out to the rest of the body.
In Pakistan, Al-Khidmat Foundation and a private medical teaching hospital have collaborated with the ARCS for the treatment of these children. The first batch of nine such children arrived in Pakistan from Kabul on June 17.
On Sunday, the first two operations were conducted, while the rest of the seven children will be treated this week.
“We operated upon two minors on the first day and with God’s help, all is well,” Dr. Asim Khan, a pediatric cardiac surgeon, told Arab News. “The condition of the two children is satisfactory and they will be able to lead a normal life in weeks.”
The picture posted on June 17, 2022 shows Afghan parents along with their children boarding on a bus at Torkham Border to get medical treatment of Congenital Heart Diseases at Teaching Hospital in Lahore, Pakistan. (@AlkhidmatOrg/Twitter)
The two children included five-year-old Muhammad Nauman and 18-month-old Murtaza Muhammad.
“Allah has blessed my son with a new life. I am thankful to Afghan Red Crescent and Pakistani doctors,” said Aman Khan, the father of Nauman.
“My son was ill and I had no resources for his treatment. I took him to Red Crescent Center and they enlisted my son for the treatment. I have no words to say thank you.”
The children and their parents will continue to stay at the Lahore hospital free of cost for 15 days after the operation.
“There are 7,000 children in Afghanistan, registered with ARCS, waiting for medical treatment of Congenital Heart Diseases (CHD), while 9,000 have been treated in the last ten years in different countries, including India, Germany and China, under the ongoing Red Cross program,” Dr. Khalil Ahmad Hijrat, a cardiac surgeon and director of the ARCS department of CHD, told Arab News.
“This year Pakistani organizations have offered help and nine children have been brought to Lahore for operation out of 40 registered for the program in Pakistan.”
The Al-Khidmat Foundation is providing logistics to ARCS to bring patients to Pakistan and helping the global charity organization with medical facilities in Afghanistan.
Shahid Iqbal, acting chief of Al-Khidmat Foundation, said Al-Khidmat delegates recently visited Afghanistan, where the ARCS requested them to help Afghan children suffering from CHD.
“We have already been working there in the [health] sector to lessen the sufferings of our brothers,” he said. “Al-Khidmat took the responsibility and with the collaboration of other charity organizations agreed to bring the children and provide them treatment.”
