The gala, themed “Continuing to fly up the dreams,” was jointly held by the “Vietnamese Hearts” fund of the Vietnam Television and military-run telecoms group Viettel on the occasion of the “Action Month for Children.”
Participants at the gala texting to raise money for the program
Also present at the event were Tran Binh Minh, Member of the Party Central Committee, General Director of the Vietnam Television; Major General Nguyen Manh Hung, Member of the Party Central Committee, General Director of Viettel; and representatives of relevant ministries, agencies and departments.
Speaking at the event, NA Chairwoman Ngan praised donors for their contributions to the fund, reaching VND 120 billion, to organize free heart surgeries for 3,500 disadvantaged children with congenital heart diseases over the past nine years.
She also urged individuals and organizations at home and abroad to continue providing financial and technical assistance for the program so that it can benefit more children with congenital heart diseases nationwide.
On the occasion, the organizing panel launched a mobile texting campaign to raise fund for needy children with congenital heart diseases. Accordingly, each SMS with the word “TTCE” sent to 1409 will donate VND 18,000 to the campaign.
By the end of the gala, the program had received more than VND 21 billion from sponsors nationwide through the mobile texting campaign.
According to a survey by the World Health Organization (WHO), currently, Vietnam has 44,600 children under six with congenital heart diseases, of whom 60 percent belong to poor and near poor households. Every year, Vietnam has 8,000-10,000 babies born with congenital heart diseases and half of them are in critical conditions, requiring immediate surgery. The program sets a target of providing surgery for 3,000 needy children by 2020 and free screening for 30,000 poor children across the country.
According to the organizing panel, the program, in collaboration with cardiac faculties of hospitals nationwide, will provide free screening tests for disadvantaged children in localities throughout the country to find out cardiovascular diseases at early stage, so that they could be treated in time. Additionally, the program also calls for more support from individuals and organizations nationwide.
Translated by Thuy Duong