Experts camp for kids with cardiovascular ailments

DODOMA: THE Benjamin Mkapa Hospital (BMH), in collaboration with the Children’s Heart Charity Association, a Kuwait-based non-governmental organisation, is holding a medical camp to provide surgery and cardiovascular services for children with heart conditions.

Speaking to reporters recently, the BMH Executive Director, Professor Abel Makubi said that the camp, which began on February 21, 2025, exclusively for children from poor families who cannot afford the specialised services.

According to him, 18 children had already received cardiovascular treatment from the previous two medical camps.

As of Monday, a team of 16 experts with different specialties, from the Kuwaitbased organisation, working alongside their BMH counterparts had successfully performed heart surgery on three more children at the medical camp.

“This mission is dedicated to children from underprivileged families. These services are too expensive for ordinary wananchi to afford. Most of the cases we receive here involve children diagnosed with heart complications who did not receive timely treatment,” Prof Makubi said, thanking the team for their support.

He urged parents to bring children with heart-related complications, or those who have already been screened with similar conditions, to the camp before it concludes its mission on February 28 this year.

ALSO READ: Samia honours Mkapa’s legacy 

Prof Makubi noted that, beyond the medical camps, the partnership has also enabled the Dodoma-based hospital to receive medical equipment from the association.

He expressed optimism that the partnership would help equip BMH’s specialists with the necessary skills to independently conduct heart surgeries in the future. On his part, the mission’s team leader, Professor Faisal Al-Saidei stressed their commitment to working closely with BMH counterparts to save children’s lives.

“We are happy to be here in Dodoma. This is our third time. It is not easy because we receive complicated cases, but we are ready to do everything possible to save lives of these children.

The number of cases is high and we don’t want to lose any of them,” he said. According to BMH’s Director of Medical Services, Dr Kessy Shija, the cost of treating a child with heart complications can range from 4m/- to 15m/-, depending on the severity of the condition.

In 2022, BMH signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Children’s Heart Charity Association to provide open-heart surgery and cardiovascular services for children with heart conditions.

The three-year agreement is expected to benefit children with cardiovascular diseases, with parents leveraging Dodoma’s central geographical position to access life-saving treatments for their children.