Integrated services project for a healthy heart and a better life, funded by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) (2017-2018):
The association implemented the project, with the aim of: a) Establishing a Specialized Heart Center/SHC to provide distinguished and sustainable medical care for heart patients living in underserved impoverished communities in Qalioubia Governorate, at subsidized cost; b) Providing health awareness for the target communities; and c) Providing a temporary medical care to heart patients while the Specialized Heart Center is being established. The following results were accomplished: –
- 3 community meetings were held in the presence of community leaders, people, and representatives of civil society organizations and government agencies, to inform them of the project’s goals and activities, and to coordinate with them the project implementation.
- 30 health awareness seminars were held for 1,163 men and women on how to prevent prevalent diseases in general, and prevent heart disease in particular.
- 40 Medical convoys were carried out to detect prevalence of the rheumatic fever and heart diseases among 6000 school children in Qalioubia Governorate. 100 students’ suffering from rheumatic fever or heart diseases were diagnosed and transferred to health insurance hospitals to receive treatment, until the Specialized Heart Center commences providing medical care to patients.
- 6 Medical convoys were carried out for 972 adult citizens, and 50 of them were diagnosed as suffering from heart diseases, and were referred to the National Heart Institute for medical follow-up, treatment or surgical operations.
- The medical staff at Qalyoub’s Public Hospital (60 doctors and 60 nurses) were trained to use ultrasound and ECG devices to ensure accurate diagnosis and treatment of heart diseases. Then, the best performing ones among them were selected to work in the Specialized Heart Center. In 2018, the SHC the center began providing medical services to citizens under the supervision of the Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of the National Heart Institute Fellows Association. Since then, 10,800 citizens were medically examined, and 500 cases of them were transferred to the National Heart Institute for follow-up, and medical or surgical treatment.
