Over 300 disadvantaged children from 1-16 years old across the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak have received free screening check-up to detect congenital heart diseases under a programme conducted at the provincial General Hospital in late April.

The programme, named “Trai tim Hang Huu”, was funded by the Dai Nam Joint Stock Company and carried out by the provincial Children Sponsoring Fund in conjunction with the Ho Chi Minh City Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital.

Besides disease screening, the programme has financed surgery for over 200 poor children with heart-related diseases from Binh Dinh, Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Can Tho, An Giang and Hau Giang provinces as of April this year.

In Dak Lak alone, 19 child patients of heart diseases have received free surgery under the programme.

According to Lam Dinh Nhiem, Director of the provincial Children Sponsoring Fund, the programme has committed 3 billion VND in 2014 and 2015 to fund examination and operations for children with congenital heart disease.

Since 2005, the Fund implemented a programme to support families whose children suffer from heart-related diseases. As a result, thousands of local children received screening examination, while 449 of them were provided with heart surgeries at a total cost of 26 billion VND.-VNA