2019 Free Congenital Heart Screening In Niger Delta Region: DCF Partners with HFH

Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) is a common birth defect, which is not usually detected as early as it should be (at birth/early days of life) due to several factors. The diagnosis is usually after patients exhibit symptoms, impacting both on the patient’s quality of life and the eventual case management.

An estimation of 180,000 children yearly, are born with CHD in Nigeria (i.e.30/1000 live births, or 3/100) and about 46% (84,000 children) of these cases require surgical intervention, however far less than 0.001% (84 children) get the needed lifesaving surgeries most of which were referred to hospitals outside of Nigeria (personal communication). The cost of which is often out of reach of patients’ families.

It is also important to note that there are only thirty-three (33) pediatric cardiologists (that is 1:2,600,000) and twenty-six (26) centers with echocardiogram capabilities in Nigeria.  The enormity of this problem cannot be over emphasized as the disease burden is severely underserved. Unfortunately, most families on diagnosis would resign to fate and wait for the child to live out its days, hoping the child survives despite their inability to get the needed surgeries.

CHD is higher in children within the Niger Delta region, because they are under screened and underdiagnosed.  DeltaAfrik Charitable Foundation in its mission to make impact, collaborated with the Hospital for Humanity (HFH) to carry out a free screening exercise for 250 children for Pediatric Congenital Heart Defects in Niger Delta Region.

The Hospital for Humanity (HFH) is a multinational non-profit healthcare organization which functions to improve healthcare delivery in resource limited locations, providing emergency disaster response, capacity building and training of healthcare workers, and health systems strengthening in various regions across the world.

DeltaAfrik Charitable Foundation and Hospitals for Humanity partnered in May 2019, to create awareness and screen children with Congenital Heart Disease, for possible surgical intervention or advanced medical treatment; thus, increasing the quality of life for the children and their families in the Niger Delta region.

The screening program initially focused on children with CHD in Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, delta and Rivers States. The success of the awareness program was so great, Pediatric cardiologists in outer-lying States began to refer their patients. Patients were also screened from Edo, Anambra, Ogun, Osun, Imo, Lagos and Abuja.

Knowing fully well that critical CHD can bring a significant risk of morbidity and mortality, as failing to detect critical CHD immediately after birth can lead to critical events such as cardiogenic shock or death. Survivors who present late are at greater risk for neurologic injury and subsequent developmental delay. Surgical intervention and/or advanced medical treatment can serve to increase the quality of life for those suffering with neurologic injury or developmental delay.

Additionally, surgical intervention prevents these outcomes after early detection, through proper screening techniques. Echocardiogram technology is used as a diagnostic tool. Hospitals for Humanity together with DeltaAfrik Charitable Foundation used this screening process to identify those children which would benefit from surgical interventions.

WHAT NEXT?

• Plan for the next Pediatric open-heart initiative for the Niger Delta Region.
• Completing diagnostic testing such as CT Angiograms on all patients that need it.
• Referring complex patients to more advanced surgical centers.
• Rising funds for all the patients by creating strategic partnerships.

We therefore implore Individuals, all stakeholder and government parastatals to support this move; as we join hands to reduce the rate of child mortality in Nigeria by giving room for medical interventions.

Your little or much can go a long way.