Hafsat Abubakar, whose case for a life-saving treatment for a heart disease in India was championed by the Media Trust Limited in 2011, has died Hafsat was diagnosed with Rheomatic heart problem in 2011 when she was only nine years old and doctors at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH), Zaria recommended her for surgery in Ghana or India.
However, after the successful surgery at an Indian hospital, doctors directed her parents to return for review after six years.
She was said to have died on Tuesday, March 19, 2019 at Ahmadu Belleo University Teaching Hospital after developing some complications.
Hafsat’s father, Malam Sani Abubakar, told Arewa Trust correspondent that they could not return for the check-up due to their inability to raise funds.
“As you know, even the first trip couldn’t have been possible without the assistance we received. I run my life on meagre income that is hardly enough to take care of my family. Obviously, I don’t have the means to sponsor another Indian trip.
“Secondly, the girl has been living a normal life. Since our return to Nigeria in 2011, the Indian doctors have asked us to be consulting doctors at the ABUTH and they have been monitoring her. All this while, there was no any noticeable problem, as she has even completed her secondary school and secured admission to read Integrated Science in ABU. She developed sudden complication on that particular Tuesday and was rushed to ABUTH where she died. I accept this as the will of Allah.”
Arewa Trust reports that the surgery in 2011 was made possible after the family sought for assistance from general public through a story published by the then Weekly Trust (now Daily Trust on Saturday).
A leading northern emir donated N1.6 million ($10,000) after reading about Hafsat’s predicaments.
Aside publishing her story, Media Trust Ltd, publishers of Daily Trust and other titles, donated N500,000, while other well-meaning Nigerians also contributed to the cost of Hafsat’s heart surgery.
