Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) signed yesterday a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) to launch the 13th edition of the 'Little Hearts' programme.
Under the agreement, 45 children with congenital heart defects will undergo cardiac catheterisation procedures, at a total cost of $151,000 (QR550,000) raised from the contributions of benevolent donors in Qatar.
The project will last from October 9 to 17, and the operations will be performed by Afghan doctors and nurses at a hospital in Kabul. It is coordinated with ARCS and Afghanistan's Ministry of Health. The MoU was signed by QRCS secretary general Ali bin Hassan al-Hammadi, and ARCS vice and acting president Dr Mir Wais Akram.
This is planned to be the first of a series of similar projects in Afghanistan, to meet the high demand for this vital intervention, which is estimated by ARCS to exceed 7,000 children of poor families.
QRCS's representation mission in Afghanistan has completed all preparations and logistics, double-checked the list of beneficiaries, and ensured the validity of the hospital to perform cardiac catheterization procedures.
Conducted for the first time in Afghanistan, the 'Little Hearts' programme has been hosted by seven countries - Sudan, Syria, Gaza, Mauritania, Morocco, Jordan, and Bangladesh. Since its inception in 2004, it has brought fresh hope to nearly 500 children with ill hearts, who can now live and grow up normally. (QNA)
