Health
Govt asked to subsidise travel costs for heart patients abroad
"I am appealing to government to subsidise these travel costs so that we can save lives of children with heart complications,’’ Ntambi said.
George Ntambi (left), the Executive Director of ACDIPE, with parents and children set to go for heart surgeries in India. (Photo by Jovita Mirembe)
By: Jovita Mirembe, Journalist @New Vision
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Due to the skyrocketing number of children with congenital heart defects, civil society activists have asked government to subsidise the travel costs for their surgeries abroad.
George Ntambi, the executive director of Action for Disadvantaged People (ACDIPE), said that although the Uganda Heart Institute (UHI) can perform about 85% to 95% of heart procedures, there are certain extremely complex surgeries that cannot be done locally due to lack of specialised equipment and technology, which is available abroad.
‘‘This is the reason the extremely complex surgeries are referred abroad, primarily to India, but the travel costs there are high, which has caused many infants with congenital heart defects to miss out on getting the life-saving operations. I am appealing to government to subsidise these travel costs so that we can save lives of children with heart complications,’’ Ntambi said.
Ntambi's appeal came during a press briefing that ACDIPE organised today (September 28) ahead of the World Heart Day at the organisation's offices in Matugga, Wakiso district. World Heart Day is celebrated annually on September 29.
Dr Sulaiman Lubega, a senior consultant paediatric cardiologist at the Uganda Heart Institute (UHI), said that while the exact causes of congenital heart defects are unknown in most cases, both local and global causes can stem from a mix of genetic, environmental, and maternal factors, which can include failure of the heart of the foetus to develop normally while in the womb.
Quoting the UHI 2024-2025 report, Lubega said approximately 16,000 babies are born with congenital heart defects in Uganda each year, representing about 1% of the roughly 1.6 million annual births. Of these, he said over 2,000 children require urgent life-saving surgery annually, although access and affordability remain significant challenges.
Ntambi's appeal came during a press briefing that ACDIPE organised today (September 28) ahead of the World Heart Day at the organisation's offices in Matugga, Wakiso district. World Heart Day is celebrated annually on September 29.
Dr Sulaiman Lubega, a senior consultant paediatric cardiologist at the Uganda Heart Institute (UHI), said that while the exact causes of congenital heart defects are unknown in most cases, both local and global causes can stem from a mix of genetic, environmental, and maternal factors, which can include failure of the heart of the foetus to develop normally while in the womb.
Quoting the UHI 2024-2025 report, Lubega said approximately 16,000 babies are born with congenital heart defects in Uganda each year, representing about 1% of the roughly 1.6 million annual births. Of these, he said over 2,000 children require urgent life-saving surgery annually, although access and affordability remain significant challenges.
"We thank ACDIPE for its collaboration with hospitals, cardiologists and referral institutions to support hundreds of children requiring urgent diagnosis, surgery, medication, rehabilitation and follow-up care for many children from low-income households, especially rural communities, to enable them have successful heart surgeries,’’ Lubega said.
Dr Nitin Marjunath, the Director of Narayana Health City Hospital based in India, pledged to continue operating on children with heart defects.
Narayana Health City Hospital, a medical partner with ACDIPE, is where the biggest number of Ugandan infants with congenital heart defects are referred from UHI for corrective surgery.
Over 600 vulnerable children have been supported by ACDIPE to get free specialised heart surgeries in both local and international hospitals since 2007.
Dr Nitin Marjunath, the Director of Narayana Health City Hospital based in India, pledged to continue operating on children with heart defects.
Narayana Health City Hospital, a medical partner with ACDIPE, is where the biggest number of Ugandan infants with congenital heart defects are referred from UHI for corrective surgery.
Over 600 vulnerable children have been supported by ACDIPE to get free specialised heart surgeries in both local and international hospitals since 2007.