PCHF hopes to set up Pakistan’s first paediatric cardiology hospital

Organisation estimates that 50,000 children born with congenital heart defects every year

KARACHI: Every year 50,000 children are born in Pakistan with holes in their hearts along with other heart diseases, a majority of whom die due to lack of facilities.

A family in Pakistan faced a similar situation when their two-and-a-half year old daughter died because of lack of timely diagnosis.

This is the story of a family whose young daughter fainted one day while playing. The girl was immediately taken to the Children’s Hospital, Lahore where doctors diagnosed her with a cardiac condition requiring urgent surgery. The girl’s father, Farhan Ahmed, a businessperson in the field of information technology had the financial resources at his disposal to get the best possible treatment for his daughter.

Immediately, all the arrangements were made and the surgery was conducted at a private hospital but was not successful. A team of well-known doctors suggested a second surgery but before the surgery could start, the girl passed away.



Farhan transformed his sorrow into strength and set out on a mission to build a hospital to help marginalised children suffering from cardiac diseases. According to him, there are approximately 50,000 children in Pakistan suffering from congenital heart defects but only 2,500 patients are treated at the government’s expense. The surgeries can cost up to Rs500,000 at private hospitals.

Farhan set up the Pakistan’s Children Heart Foundation (PCHF) with the aim to provide financial support for the treatment of children with congenital heart defects who were born in less privileged families. He also aimed to raise awareness about the condition and build a state-of-the-art hospital to treat the condition.

Under Project Mohsin, more than 800 surgeries have been performed as of September, 2017 through the Rs27 million collected. As the surgeries continue, Farhan has focused on the second part of the mission - building the first paediatric cardiology hospital in Pakistan.

To build this hospital, Ernst and Young estimated $12 million for the project.



If 100,000 Pakistanis donate Rs1,000 per month for a year the target can be achieved. As a result, the nation will not just be able to cure children of this disease but also can bring a smile to their parents’ faces.

To learn more about PCHF and make a donation, visit their website www.pchf.org.pk