<p>The Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) hosted a golf tournament in Lahore to raise funds to support needy patients with congenital heart disease (CHD).</p><p>CHD refers to heart defects that are present at birth. One in three patients with this debilitating condition <g class="gr_ gr_28 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="28" data-gr-id="28">require</g> urgent life-saving procedures within the first year of their life. Estimates suggest 60,000 infants are born in Pakistan with CHD every year, and 15,000 of them are critical.</p><p>As a national leader in paediatric healthcare, AKUH remains passionately dedicated to its core purpose – providing access to the absolute best healthcare to every child. AKUH launched its <em>Mending Kids' Hearts</em> campaign in 2015<g class="gr_ gr_30 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation multiReplace" id="30" data-gr-id="30">; and</g> through partnerships and support of <g class="gr_ gr_29 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="29" data-gr-id="29">donors</g> it has doubled the number of patients it treated through surgeries and CHD procedures. In 2017, AKUH treated over 675 CHD patients and over half of them received financial support through the AKUH's Patient Welfare Programme.</p><p>The event was attended by leaders in healthcare including AKUH CEO, Johannes (Hans) Kedzierski, and <g class="gr_ gr_25 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation multiReplace" id="25" data-gr-id="25"></g>Dr Mahim Malik, the only female paediatric cardiac surgeon in Pakistan; and prominent donors and business executives including Allied Bank CEO, Tahir Hassan Qureshi who was the chief guest.</p><p>Reiterating her commitment to CHD awareness and treatment, <g class="gr_ gr_27 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation multiReplace" id="27" data-gr-id="27"></g>Dr Mahim Malik said: "CHD has remained a largely ignored disease in Pakistan, even though over 60,000 babies are born with this problem every year. It is time we all take responsibility for these young lives and change the future of these children."</p><p>Sponsors like Allied <g class="gr_ gr_34 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-del replaceWithoutSep" id="34" data-gr-id="34">Bank,</g> donated to the Aga Khan University Hospital's (AKUH) Patient Welfare Fund for CHD. CEO Allied Bank, <g class="gr_ gr_66 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation multiReplace" id="66" data-gr-id="66">Mr.</g> Tahir Hussain Qureshi, said: "It is saddening to see that young children continue to die from preventable diseases. Allied Bank supports this campaign to give children from all backgrounds fair access to healthcare."</p><p>Pakistan has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world. A recent UNICEF report noted that global deaths of newborn babies remain alarmingly high, particularly among the world's poorest countries. UNICEF singled out Pakistan as the riskiest country, saying that 1 out of every 22 newborns (46 out of 1,000) in Pakistan will die at birth. Yet, existing maternal and child health facilities across the country are poorly funded.</p><p></p>
