ID :
20214
Fri, 09/19/2008 - 20:13
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/20214
The shortlink copeid
Six Iraqi children due in Seoul for medical treatment By Byun Duk-kun
SEOUL, Sept. 19 (Yonhap) -- A group of six Iraqi children, aged two to 12, will arrive here later Friday for medical operations that could save their lives, officials said.
All six, two girls and four boys, are suffering from heart-related ailments that, if left untreated, could cost their lives in the near future, according to officials of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).
They have been diagnosed by the medical team of a South Korean contingent in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil, they said.
"The six children are from very poor families of Irbil, who have been unable to receive any medical treatment, and there are many more in the Irbil area who are unable to receive any treatment for their innate heart problems," a JCS official said.
As of this month, the South Korean medical unit have treated over 87,000 Iraqi patients since its deployment there in 2004, according to JCS officials.
But its understaffed facility and lack of equipment prevent any major surgery, they said. The six due here will bring to 25 the total number of Iraqi children who have been brought to the country for medical treatment since 2006.
The children will be admitted at Sejong General Hospital in Bucheon, just outside of the South Korean capital Seoul, where they will undergo tests for more detailed diagnoses and required treatment, including surgery, they said.
The hospital has agreed to provide all necessary medical services at the lowest available fees while the cost of their transportation to and from Iraq and medical services will be paid by the Korea Exchange Bank and a private relief organization, Nanum Foundation.
All six, two girls and four boys, are suffering from heart-related ailments that, if left untreated, could cost their lives in the near future, according to officials of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).
They have been diagnosed by the medical team of a South Korean contingent in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil, they said.
"The six children are from very poor families of Irbil, who have been unable to receive any medical treatment, and there are many more in the Irbil area who are unable to receive any treatment for their innate heart problems," a JCS official said.
As of this month, the South Korean medical unit have treated over 87,000 Iraqi patients since its deployment there in 2004, according to JCS officials.
But its understaffed facility and lack of equipment prevent any major surgery, they said. The six due here will bring to 25 the total number of Iraqi children who have been brought to the country for medical treatment since 2006.
The children will be admitted at Sejong General Hospital in Bucheon, just outside of the South Korean capital Seoul, where they will undergo tests for more detailed diagnoses and required treatment, including surgery, they said.
The hospital has agreed to provide all necessary medical services at the lowest available fees while the cost of their transportation to and from Iraq and medical services will be paid by the Korea Exchange Bank and a private relief organization, Nanum Foundation.
