Sodiq Ojuroungbe
A non-profit organisation, Hospitals for Humanity has pledged to carry out life-saving heart surgeries on 150 children annually as part of efforts to tackle the dire healthcare challenges faced by Nigerian children with congenital heart defects.
The NGO said this commitment comes amidst staggering statistics revealing that less than 0.001 per cent of the estimated 85,000 children born with congenital heart defects receive the surgery they need.
HfH recently celebrated a decade of its “Saving Little Hearts” programme while fundraising for 150 Nigerian children requiring critical surgery.
While claiming that more than 130 successful open-heart procedures have been performed, the NGO said it is focusing on building the long-term capacity of local hospitals and medical personnel.
The CEO and Founder of HfH, Dr Segun Ajayi, said the NGO had performed 16 paediatric cardiac catheterisations, screened over 1,500 Nigerian children for congenital heart defects and procured $6.5m in medical supplies, medication and equipment.
He added that it has created five paediatric cardiovascular intensive care units, and ICUs in Nigeria.
Speaking on the challenge of congenital heart defects in Nigeria, he said, “Hospitals for Humanity has a revolving list of over 1,000 patients from all over Nigeria. These children need these surgeries urgently and cannot afford to pay for treatment.
“We want to save at least 150 lives each year by performing free heart surgery on Nigerian children. We will significantly decrease healthcare barriers and create improved access to quality healthcare services through clinical medicine, training programmes for local medical professionals, research, advocacy and development.
‘We can’t do all of these alone, so we say a great big thank you to all our partners, sponsors, medical and non-medical volunteers and donors.”
The Executive Director of HfH, Ms Myna Shegog, added, “Every time, we pour ourselves into this work and when we come back year after year, it is an honour to see the fruits of our labour as these children progress, grow and thrive.”
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