In funds absence, thousands of Afghan children facing heart issues await treatment

The treatment of thousands of Afghan children who are facing congenital heart defects is suspended for the last four months due to unavailability of funds, reported local media.

Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) said that more than 1,000 children with congenital heart defects have been registered since the beginning of 2021 and are waiting to be treated inside or outside the country, reported TOLOnews.

The issue began due to the financial conditions, said a spokesperson for ARCS Noor Aqa Sahibzada, stressing that ARCS was very active in past as it was receiving aid from some countries but currently the organisation is not getting aid from anywhere.

"My son was about two months of old when his disease was diagnosed, but we were not financially able to pay for treatment," TOLOnews quoted Abdul Mohammad, a Mazar-e-Sharif resident whose 12-year-old son has heart defects, as saying.

Abdul visited the Afghan Red Crescent office in Kabul to register his 12-year-old son.

Guardians of nearly 8-10 children with heart defects daily visit ARCS for treatment. From 200, the group has so far treated 13,000 children and currently about 6000 Afghan children are waiting for their treatment, according to Red Crescent.

( With inputs from ANI )

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