New fund in UAE to help pay hospital bills of children

Treatment will not be limited to children in the UAE, but will be extended to kids across the region.-Alamy Image

Dubai - Critical illnesses will also be covered under the fund.

A new fund has been set up to ensure treatment for children whose parents cannot foot hefty hospital bills. Al Jalila Children's Specialty Hospital (Al Jalila Children's), in partnership with Al Jalila Foundation, has launched the Al Jalila Children's Fund to ensure treatment will be provided to children who cannot afford it.
Treatment will not be limited to children in the UAE, but will be extended to kids across the region. So far, the foundation has helped 190 children in the UAE with life-saving heart surgeries, treatment of childhood cancers, cochlear implants and prosthetic limbs. However, with the establishment of the fund on Tuesday, processes are expected to become more streamlined, revealed senior hospital officials.
The decision to support families with donations from the fund will be made on a case to case basis, depending on the patient's medical condition. Critical illnesses will also be covered under the fund.
The foundation aims to collect funds from individuals, corporate donations and charity events through the hospital website www.aljalilachildrens.ae. The hospital serves children and adolescents up to the age of 18.
"This fund will exclusively support the hospital's efforts to expand its offering of premium paediatric healthcare for children in the UAE," said Dr Mohamed Al Awadhi, COO of Al Jalila Children's.
"Since the hospital is a non-profit entity, it is supported by generous donors and other external funding sources. Now, the donations collected through the Al Jalila Children's Fund will only be directed toward the treatment of children in the UAE and across the region."
Money from the fund will also be used to acquire the latest medical equipment specially developed for the treatment of children. "Additional funds will also be used to support our research centre to fund studies and researches of advanced medical treatments for critical illnesses in children," Dr Al Awadhi added.
Sulaiman Baharoun, director of partnerships and sustainability at the hospital, said: "Former patients of the hospital were given a fresh start in life after receiving special care from our medical providers and physicians. The partnership with Al Jalila Children's Fund will ensure that more children can receive the treatment they desperately need. More and more children will now have easier access to world-class treatment."
A recipient of the hospital's treatment, 15-year-old Egyptian national Roaa Hesham, underwent treatment for microcystic lymphangioma, a microcystic lymphatic malformation usually occurring on the neck, head and mouth. Having undergone several surgical procedures including removing a part of her tongue in addition to several laser sessions, the nature of the disease resulted in a significant deformity in her tongue and floor of the mouth. She said: "I could not use my tongue to speak or eat properly."
Dr Mohamad Bitar, consultant paediatric otolaryngology head and neck surgeon, performed an anterior tongue reconstruction and conservative destruction of the infiltrating lesion. "With a new and healed reconstructed tongue, Roaa now has a better ability to eat and speak and carry on life as any other 15-year-old," he explained.
Roaa Hesham said: "Now, I can talk. My speech is clear and I can move my tongue if I want. Before, it was stuck." According to her father Hesham Ahmed, Roaa underwent many surgeries. "All they would do is keep removing them, and it would keep coming back. After the surgery, the shape of her tongue has improved."

Al Jalila Children's Fund