Program provides free heart surgery for nearly 5,200 children

A performance at the gala (Photo: VNA)

The event was jointly organised by the Vietnam Television (VTV)’s “Tam long Viet” (Vietnam’s Heart) foundation and the Viettel Military Industry and Telecoms Group (Viettel).

Speaking at the gala, Politburo member and Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan spoke highly of the charity programme.

It has also contributed to child protection and education in Vietnam as well as the country’s hunger eradication and poverty alleviation efforts, he added.

“Trai tim cho em” has raised 152 billion VND (6.5 million USD) over the past 11 years. In addition, over 130,000 children nationwide have received free heart disease screening.

In 2019 alone, the programme provided free surgery for more than 550 child patients while around 30,000 children received free screenings, doubling 2018’s figure.

On the occasion, the programme’s new ambassadors - footballers Nguyen Trong Hoang, Que Ngoc Hai and Bui Tien Dung - presented a jersey with signatories of all members of the U22 team and Korean head coach Park Hang-seo, which will be auctioned to raise funds for future operations for children born with heart defects./.

VNA