ARCS Registers 35,000 Children With Heart Defects, Treats 15,000

Officials of the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) say 35,000 children with congenital heart defects have been registered across the country, of whom 15,000 have so far received treatment.

Officials also said the recently opened hospital for congenital heart defects in Kabul has the capacity to treat 2,000 patients annually and assured that all children affected by the condition would receive treatment.

Samiullah, a representative of the ARCS Media Department, said: “Since the Afghan Red Crescent Society began treating children with congenital heart defects, it has so far treated around 15,000 children.”

At the same press conference, officials of the ARCS southeastern zone office said they have provided health services in various areas to 1.2 million people in Paktia, Paktika, Khost, Logar, Ghazni and Maidan Wardak provinces.

Mohammad Nasim Ahmadi, operations officer of the ARCS southeastern zone office, said: “In the six provinces of this zone, services have been provided to more than 298,000 people at fixed clinics and to more than 308,000 people by mobile teams.”

Ghulam Sarwar Abu Ahmad, head of the ARCS branch in Paktia, said: “In Paktia, we have an educational center for children who cannot afford to study at private courses, and between 350 and 400 children study at this center.”

The ARCS southeastern zone office also said that, with the support of Red Crescent societies from partner countries, it has distributed food and non-food items to more than 14,000 families in the zone’s provinces, as well as 288 million afghanis in cash assistance to more than 15,000 families.