Israeli NGOs Screen South Sudan Children for Life-Saving Heart Surgery

Two leading Israeli non-governmental humanitarian aid groups held a screening mission for children with congenital heart defects in Juba, South Sudan this week.

Four children received life-saving heart surgery in Israel last November as a result of collaboration between Save a Child’s Heart and IsraAID.

This week the two organizations conducted a screening mission to identify additional children who could benefit from such treatment. Cardiologists from Save a Child’s Heart screened 74 children at Al-Sabbah Children’s Hospital in Juba over three days.

“We are very grateful for the full cooperation between IsraAID, Save a Child’s Heart and the Al-Sabbah Hospital in identifying children with heart problems and offering them the possibility to receive life-saving treatment,” said Dr. Justin Bruno Tongun, Executive Director of the Al-Sabbah Children’s Hospital.

Dozens of children arrived on the first day of screening on Monday, attended by the South Sudanese Minister of Health, Director-General of the Health Ministry, and Israeli Ambassador to South Sudan. The four children who underwent heart surgery in Israel last year visited the hospital on Tuesday and were seen by the cardiologists for a follow-up screening.

Dr. Akiva Tamir, pediatric cardiologist and one of the founders of Save a Child’s Heart said, “There are many children in need here, and we will do our best to screen and diagnose as many children as we can with the hospital’s team.”

Pediatricians and cardiologists at the hospital worked hand-in-hand with Israeli cardiologists from Save a Child’s Heart and IsraAID’s team in South Sudan to identify additional children who would benefit from treatment in Israel.