Qatar- QRCS medical convoy concludes with 116 cardiac catheterizations for Bangladeshi children

(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) has concluded its 'Little Hearts medical convoy to Bangladesh, at a total cost of $250,000 (around QR1m).

Over 8 days, 116 cardiac catheterizations were performed for children with congenital heart defects. On the last day, a workshop was held at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) in Dhaka, to assess the work done and thank the medical personnel who contributed to the procedures.

H E Ahmed bin Mohamed Al Dehaimi, Ambassador of Qatar to Bangladesh, hosted the medical team from Qatar and Bangladesh, as well as leaders of Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BDRCS), the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), and Qatari organisations operating in the country.

At the meeting, a presentation was provided on the achievements of the last medical convoy and the overall medical interventions in Bangladesh. The meeting discussed the importance of these medical convoys for the children of Bangladesh and other poor countries. The medical team thanked H E the Ambassador and the staff of the Embassy of Qatar for providing all facilitations to make the mission a success.

In his statements, Abdullah Hassan Al Mehshadi, General Director of Relief and International Development Division at QRCS, said: 'The medical mission was 100 percent successful, with the participation of seven physicians from Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) and Sidra Medicine, in addition to physicians from the United States, Palestine, and Jordan. This is the biggest number of members to take part in a medical convoy with QRCS ever.

'This is the fourth medical convoy by QRCS in Bangladesh under the Little Hearts program. Since its launch in 2004, the programme has treated thousands of patients who could not afford the cost of treatment whether locally or abroad. Some countries lack the medical resources to perform such procedures. These procedures address heart abnormalities in poor children born with holes in the heart, defected valves, etc. Catheters are used to insert the devices, buttons, and stents. They are not surgical interventions like open heart surgeries.

'According to statistics, this medical convoy has made an unprecedented number of 116 procedures over eight days, jumping from 104 procedures. To show how effective these interventions are for the local community, you have to know that NICVD performs an average of 200 cardiac catheterizations per year.

'Al Mehshadi commended the cooperation from HMC and Sidra Medicine, which allowed their physicians to take part in the convoy. 'Some physicians are long-serving members of the Little Hearts convoys. They have treated the ill hearts of young kids, who are now able to play and live normally like their peers, he said.

'QRCS will continue to deploy medical convoys, under its strategy to improve the quality of health care services provided for the vulnerable groups in poor communities. Despite all the efforts done, the needs are by far beyond that. There are hundreds of ill children on the waiting list. More and more medical convoys are yet to be secured, with funding from the generous donors of Qatar, to give a lifeline to the poor families whose children were afflicted with heart disorders since their birth, he concluded.

MENAFN1901202000630000ID1099571829