Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub praised the donation of The Big Heart Foundation.

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

Under the directives of Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher Bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Chairperson of The Big Heart Foundation (TBHF) and Eminent Advocate for Refugee Children at UNHCR, TBHF, a Sharjah-based global humanitarian organisation dedicated to helping people in need worldwide, has announced the allocation of $4 million to build and fully-equip a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at the upcoming Magdi Yacoub Global Heart Centre in Cairo.

The PICU will be named in memory of the late Sheikh Khalid Bin Sultan Al Qasimi, son of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah. Located in 6th of October City in Cairo, Egypt’s Capital, the unit at Magdi Yacoub Global Heart Centre is slated for completion in 2023 and will cater for 2,000 children annually.

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TBHF’s $4 million support is in response to studies and research that highlight cardiovascular diseases as a significant challenge for the healthcare sector in Egypt. While 226,000 succumbed to coronary conditions in the year 2016 only, another 2,000 deaths were caused by rheumatic heart diseases annually. In addition, 5,000 of an estimated 18,000 children born annually with congenitally heart diseases lose their lives every year.

  Mariam Al Hammadi, TBHF Director.

TBHF support will help in the provision of one of the paediatric intensive care units at the centre that consists of 16 beds and state-of-the-art medical equipment for post cardiovascular surgery.

The fund will also cover expenses of allocating one or two nurses each to every patient to ensure proper care and effective rapid response monitoring.

When complete, the Magdi Yacoub Global Heart Centre in Cairo will alter the landscape of cardiac care in Egypt, becoming one of the biggest healthcare and research entities for treatment of cardiac and cardiovascular diseases in the Arab world with a patient capacity of 120,000 annually as well as delivering 12,000 free cardiovascular surgeries and catheterisations of which 60% will be dedicated to children.

The hospital will also provide training to 1,500 doctors and surgeons through its training and educational centre operating under the Magdi Yacoub Heart Foundation.

In a statement, Mariam Al Hammadi, Director of TBHF, said that building and equipping a paediatric post cardiovascular surgery ICU translates the vision of Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher Al Qasimi to provide specialised healthcare for all members of society, especially children with chronic diseases, irrespective of their social status or financial capabilities.

 Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub.

“We are therefore working with organisations in the Arab region and across the world to help boost sustainable social development by providing education and healthcare services to meet the needs of children and those from low-income communities,” she said.

“At TBHF, children are at the heart of our charity endeavour as we believe that by providing a safe and nurturing environment as well as improving children’s health, they can grow up to become the most effective changemakers worldwide. Our support in building this post-cardiovascular surgery PICU aims to alleviate the suffering of children and their parents, and is geared towards advancing Egypt’s healthcare infrastructure,” Al Hammadi added.

Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub praised the donation of TBHF, stressing the foundation’s leading role in the field of children healthcare. He pointed out that this collaboration guarantees serving more cases, especially those that are in need for immediate treatment.

Professor Magdi Yacoub also stated that this collaboration reflects the bond between the two entities and the Egyptian and Emirati relations on a bigger scale. He wished for this new hospital to achieve its aims by contributing to the healthcare system in Egypt and later the entire Arab world.

The partnership between TBHF and The Magdi Yacoub Global Heart Centre aligns with the former’s ongoing efforts to scale up a network based on cooperation between institutions of public benefit in the Arab world to boost the capabilities of vital sectors, particularly health and social care, and which caters specifically for low-income segments of the community.