The plight of poor children with congenital heart diseases (CHD) here moved NRIs into donating $200,000 at a fund-raiser dinner held in the US by a non-profit organization. About 40-50 NRIs have offered to sponsor a child each. Some of them are keen to sponsor a child or two every year
According to medical reports, every year, nearly 200,000 children are born in India with CHD. Only six to eight percent children affected with CHD receive medical treatment. Eighty percent of them die without timely treatment, as their families cannot afford the costs.The cost of operating on a child with CHD is between Rs.50, 000 and Rs.300, 000 and depending on the nature of the disease, the number of related deaths keeps increasing day by day due to a lack of medical facilities, money and awareness.
Lack of proper nutrition during pregnancy, infections during pregnancy, late pregnancies, diabetes and genetic problems are some of the causes for children being born with CHD. All forms of CHD can be treated if only the affected children undergo surgery and medication in time
As responsible citizens, it is left to our capability to ensure that all the suffering children gain access to modern tertiary care which would not happen until a vigorous awareness programmes are conducted through out the country.
Source: IANS
