The 'River of Life' fund, one of the Emirates Red Crescent Authority's health initiatives, has performed 10 surgeries on children domestically in less than a month since launching its campaign to treat children within the country, including 7 open-heart operations conducted in cooperation with a number of hospitals specialising in childhood diseases.
The campaign, recently launched under the slogan 'Goodness is here, in the UAE and its people', targets children under 15 years of age. The fund covers the costs of surgeries and hospital fees for facilities overseeing the treatment and improvement of children's health.
Ahmed Sari Al Mazrouei, Secretary-General of the Emirates Red Crescent Authority, said the 'River of Life' fund's domestic campaign is an extension of the fund's humanitarian journey since its establishment in 2023, which has spanned 10 countries and enabled it to perform surgeries and provide comprehensive healthcare benefiting approximately 3,000 children in those countries.
He added: "The current campaign aims to expand the fund's treatment programmes on the domestic front and contribute to a positive and sustainable impact on children's lives by providing specialised healthcare, including medical and surgical interventions across a number of medical specialties in the country's hospitals."
Al Mazrouei affirmed that the 'River of Life' fund represents one of the Authority's leading qualitative initiatives in the field of child welfare, and embodies its ongoing commitment to strengthening health and humanitarian programmes aimed at improving children's quality of life.
He noted that attention to childhood and the development of children's health and humanitarian capacities constitutes a firm priority in the Authority's strategy, pointing to its continued development of health programmes and the strengthening of partnerships with specialised medical institutions, which contributes to expanding the reach of the fund's services within the country.
The Secretary-General expressed the Authority's appreciation for the response the fund's campaign has received from donors and contributors, who have expressed their solidarity with children's health conditions through their generous support of the campaign, adding: "Through this solidarity, we can achieve the desired impact in providing greater healthcare for children facing various health challenges."