PLAN Ghana has raised 16,000 Euros to support them than 200 children suffering from heart ailments to enable them undergo surgery. So far, only 26 of the children have received financial support from their parents and the National Heart Foundation of the Cardiothoracic Centre at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital to undergo surgical operation. The gesture by PLAN Ghana, an NGO, will support about 10 of the remaining 174 children who are still suffering and need public assistance. Dr. Ekow Entsua-Mensah, a Cardiothoracic Surgeon, told the Ghanaian Times in Accra on Thursday that the centre had began screening the children to select those who require immediate attention to begin the surgery from next week. It can be recalled that, Times reported on April 26 that the lives of more than 200 children suffering from heart ailments are at risk as the National Cardiothoracic Centre- at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital struggle for funding to carry out surgical operations on them. The paper said the situation had arisen because of the inability of their parents to meet the cost of the operation. Dr. Baffour Gyah, a Cardiothoracic Surgeon who the reporter spoke to, said the number of children on the waiting lists since last year could be more, but some parents who got frightened by the cost and, therefore, did not return for treatment. The centre, Dr. Mensah said, had informed the Ministry of Health about the situation and that the ministry had promised to raise funds to support the operation of the children. “There is hope for children with congenital heart diseases as the centre eagerly awaits government action on their fate,” he added. He said statistics showed that one per cent of 100 children born had heart ailments, saying there was the need to save some money for such children if the need arose. Source: The Ghanaian Times