ARCS treats 750 children with cardiac diseases

KABUL (ARCS) has treated 750 children suffering from heart diseases, an official said on Tuesday.

Forty more patients were ready to be taken to hospitals in Kabul, Peshawar and India, ARCS secretary general, Naeem Dindar, told Pajhwok Afghan News.

The patients with severe problems were taken to Rahman Medical Hospital in Peshawar and Max Hospital in New Delhi. Others with minor problems will be treated in Kabul’s French Medical Institute for Children (FMIC).

Masooma, who brought her 10-year-old daughter to Kabul from northern Balkh province, said her child had a hole in her heart and they could not afford her treatment.

She expressed pleasure over the ARCS free treatment programme and said: “My daughter is very weak and becomes sick frequently. My husband is a labourer. We even don’t have enough money to make ends meet, much less pay for our daughter’s treatment.”

Najibullah, a resident of Kabul, said his 18-month-old son was being treated by ARCS. “I am a daily wager and earn 300 afghanis ($6.4) a day when I find work.”

Since 2009, 750 children with cardiac problems had been treated at the French Medical Institute, Max Hospital and Rahman Medical Institute at a cost of $2 million (91.9 million afghanis, Dindar said.

am/mud

Visits: 2