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AFGHANISTAN: Lottery income treats child heart defects
10 Nov 2008 06:20:51 GMT
 Source: IRIN

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•  Afghan turmoil

•  Children

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KABUL, 10 November 2008 (IRIN) - Income from a national lottery run by the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) has covered the treatment expenses of 26 poor children who were suffering from congenital heart defects over the past two years, the NGO said.

Congenital heart defects (CHD) [http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Congenital-heart-disease/Pages/Introduction.aspx?url=Pages/What-is-it.aspx&r=1&rtitle=Congenital+heart+disease+-+Introduction] are defects in the structure of the heart and great vessels of newborn babies. These defects often obstruct blood flow, cause an irregular heartbeat and can lead to death.

While the cause of CHD is not entirely known, experts believe it is often a combination of genetic predisposition and environmental factors. CHD usually require surgery and/or medication.

"Every month we pay for the treatment of three to four children," Mohammad Salim Bahramand, director of the ARCS's health department, told IRIN. He said that each treatment costs US$2,000-2,500 and that there has been an increasing incidence of the disease in Afghanistan.

"Funds for the treatments are generated through our lottery tickets," he said, referring to a national lottery offering tickets for around $1 and grand prizes for winners.

The ARCS said it is helping most vulnerable children suffering from CHD inside the country and also at medical centres in Pakistan and India.

Need for more funds

Almost all the children who seek CHD treatment through the ARCS-sponsored programme are from poor families and would not be able to pay for treatment by any other means, the ARCS said.

There are at least 184 children on ARCS' list of those still needing treatment for CHD.

"If we continue at our current pace, the 184th child will receive treatment three years from now… that could be very late," Bahramand said.

In a bid to tackle this challenge, the ARCS has allocated extra funds from other sources to pay for the treatment of 50 CHD patients in November. Thirty of these children will receive treatment at a French hospital in Kabul while 20 others will be sent to a hospital in neighbouring Pakistan, Bahramand said.

However, the ARCS said it lacks adequate resources to pay for similar medical treatment for the remaining 184 patients in the near future.

"We need donors' funding and help to ensure the timely treatment of all the remaining children," Bahramand said.

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