Doha: Under its medical convoy program, Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) is carrying out phase four of the "Little Hearts" project in Afghanistan, in partnership with the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) and Afghanistan's Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) and with the support of volunteering medical team from Sidra Medicine. So far, the volunteering medical team from Sidra Medicine has performed diagnostic and therapeutic cardiac catheterizations for 93 boys and girls with congenital heart defects, out of 169 target patients in total. With a total budget of over USD 416,000, the project is aimed at reducing morbidity and mortality rates among the population in general, and children in particular, specifically those born with serious heart problems, addressing the too long waiting lists, easing the financial burden on the shoulders of the families of patients, and training the local medical personnel of the host hospital in Kabul. During their stay in Kabul, the delegation held coordination meetings with senior officials of MOPH and the Public Heart Center at the Children's Hospital, to assess its capacity, needs, and requirements to perform such medical procedures. Currently, there are no public centers to perform cardiac catheterizations, which are all performed at private-sector hospitals and centers. Source: Qatar News Agency