United Arab Emirates, Dubai, July 10, 2018:   More than 100 Indian children will receive a new lease of life due to free heart surgeries that the cardiac team from DHA are performing in Mumbai to treat children with cardiac congenital abnormalities. 

The initiative is taking place under the patronage of Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives.

 

Nabadat, which means heartbeat in Arabic, is an initiative launched by the Mohammed bin Rashid Charity and Humanitarian Establishment (MBRCHE) in collaboration with the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) and provides free medical assistance, surgery and post-surgical care to children whose parents cannot afford to pay for treatment of congenital heart diseases. 

 

During the seven-day workshop that began on the 7th of July, more than 100 children aged newborn to 14 years will receive free surgery and treatment for congenital heart ailments as part of the Nabadat Initiative. So far, the team has successfully performed 51 procedures (32 open-heart surgeries and 19 catherizations) at Fortis Hospital, Mulund and S. L. Raheja, a Fortis Associate Hospital in Mumbai. 

 

Additionally, they will also conduct free paediatric cardiac check-ups to screen as many children as possible.

 

HE Humaid Al Qutami, Director-General of the DHA said, “The Nabadat initiative is one of the many humanitarian initiatives undertaken by the UAE globally.  It reflects the values of our Founding Father of the UAE, late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan and those of our wise leadership. Children are the future and this initiative helps provide them with an opportunity to lead a normal healthy life.”

 

Al Qutami added that the success of this initiative reflects the medical capabilities of the Emirate. 

 

HE Ibrahim Bumelha, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Mohammed bin Rashid Charity and Humanitarian Establishment (MBRCHE) highlighted that the leadership of the UAE is keen to provide humanitarian aid and services across the globe. 

 

Bumelha said that the Nabadat initiative has successfully helped those with limited means and Nabadat will continue to provide its services farther afield. 

So far, the Nabadat team has visited Sudan thrice. The team has also provided free heart surgeries to children in Addis Ababa, Mauritania, Egypt and Tajikistan to name a few. 

 

Bumelha stated that the organization covers the complete cost of care and provides logistical support to the medical team.  

 

He said that paediatric cardiac surgery is an extremely specialised field and requires high level of expertise. “We have collaborated with the DHA on this initiative to provide high-quality cardiac services to children in need and we aim to continue our global efforts through the Nabadat initiative.”

 

HE Saleh Al Tunaiji, UAE Consul General in Mumbai praised the humanitarian initiative and visited the children who underwent surgery and met with the medical team. 

Dr Obaid Al Jassim, Head of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Dubai Hospital said, “The aim of this initiative is to reduce the economic and physiological burden faced by families of children with congenital heart problems and help children live a happy and healthy life.”

 

Dr Al Jassim said that some of the cases are complicated as the children have more than one congenital disease and require multiple treatments. 

 

He added that several families with financial difficulties travelled more than 1200 kilometers to reach Mumbai and receive treatment for their children. “Many of the cases were ventricular septal defect (VSD) which is a hole between the two pumping chambers of the heart (ventricles). Normally such cases are not complicated; however, since many of the children had long-standing untreated congenital disease the cases were more complex than usual.”

He added that lack of awareness, financial resources and access to medical facilities remains a major issue globally. 

 

Dr Al Jassim thanked the hospitals in Mumbai for their collaboration and support. 

 

He added that congenital heart disease (CHD) is a common type of birth defect that refers to malformations of heart structure existing at birth. 

It is estimated that eight to 10 babies in every 100,000 suffer from CHD.

 

There are more than 30 types of CHD, with three main categories — septal defects (hole in the heart), obstruction defects (partial or total blockage of the flow of blood) and cyanotic (defects that leads to a lack of oxygen being pumped).

 

The Nabadat team consists of cardiac surgeons, cardiac anesthetists, intensivists, perfusionists, nurses and technicians.