The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in collaboration with the Muslim World League has offered free cardiac and urology surgeries to 114 patients of the two diseases at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), in Kano.
The programme, which was fully sponsored by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, is towards supporting patients that are battling with cardiac and urology diseases, but they could not afford to pay for the surgeries because they are expensive.
The free surgeries are part of the efforts of the center towards the control of cardiac and urology diseases in Nigeria and across the world, through humanitarian aid and relief in the health sector. It gathered patients from different parts of the country and they successfully underwent the operation and were offered free medications.
Speaking about the surgeries, the team lead from King Salman Center and Muslim World League, Abdallah Ajmad, said the programme is the second of its kind by the King Salman Aid and Relief Center, adding that it is towards supporting the poor and needy through the provision of aid and relief in the health sector.
He said 14 of the patients were battling with cardiac diseases while 90 had urology diseases, and that all of them were successfully operated on.
“This is a great support from the King Salman Center. It is done to support patients who are battling with the two diseases and cannot afford to pay for the surgeries. We are doing it free of any charge and the patients were selected based on the nature of their cases.
“We hope local sponsors and individuals will join us in doing this, as it is the only way we can help people with these diseases. As you all know, the surgery is very expensive and many people cannot afford it,” he said.
He appreciated the King Salman Center for the gesture and pledges for more collaborations, support and intervention for the programme to continue.
Also speaking, the head of Cardiac Operations at the AKTH, Dr Jamilu Ismail Ahmad, said they have successfully operated all 114 patients with cardiac and urology diseases and that they are feeling much better.
“We are happy with this programme as it is done at the right time. It is high time that the attention of the authority should be focused on cardiac diseases of both adults and children. We didn’t encounter any problems during the surgeries and all the patients are fine,” he stated.
Speaking about the gesture by King Salman Center, the Consul General of Saudi Arabia in Kano, Mr Khalil Ahmad Al-Adamawy, appreciated the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the great humanitarian aid and also appreciated the Kano State Government for supporting the programme.
“These humanitarian activities are part of an expression of the feelings of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, under the noble direction of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz and his Highness the Crown Prince, towards its pioneer role of supporting communities across the world.
“The importance of this culminates in the impact of these surgeries in offering a chance for these patients who cannot afford the cost of these cardiac and urology surgeries to regain their health and become free of the various diseases they are faced with,” the Consul General said.
One of the patients that underwent the surgery, Maryam Musa Gombe, said “I was having severe pain before. I was diagnosed with the disease for a long time and my deadline of operation was passing. I don’t have the means to pay for the operation. But through this gesture, I am now feeling fine. I underwent a successful surgery and I thank them for this. May Almighty Allah reward them.”
