Anniversary celebration highlights three decades of life-saving care, medical training and stronger pediatric cardiac services across Africa
Save a Child’s Heart marked 30 years of international humanitarian work at a special anniversary gathering at the Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s Residence in Jerusalem. The event brought together children who have received treatment, their families, medical professionals, supporters, donors, and diplomatic representatives, including those from African countries partnering with the organization. The anniversary highlighted how Save a Child’s Heart has connected children with specialized cardiac care while helping build the expertise required for more children to be treated closer to home.
Since its founding in 1995, Save a Child’s Heart has provided life-saving cardiac treatment to more than 9,000 children from 75 developing countries in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, South America and beyond. The anniversary gathering included six-year-old Shalom from Malawi, whose congenital heart condition, Tetralogy of Fallot, was treated in Israel, giving her the prospect of a healthier childhood. The organization’s medical care, including heart surgery and catheterization procedures in Israel and through medical missions, is fully funded by Save a Child’s Heart, at no cost to families.
A Lasting Commitment to Africa
Africa has been part of the Save a Child’s Heart story from the very beginning: the first child the organization ever treated came from Ethiopia. Since then, 4,732 children from 39 African countries have received life-saving heart care, from Tanzania and Zambia to Rwanda, Angola, Ethiopia and many more. The anniversary gathering in Jerusalem underscored this longstanding commitment, bringing together African medical professionals training in Israel, representatives from countries served by the organization, and families whose children have received care.
Training Africa’s Next Generation
Saving lives today is only part of the mission. One of the long-term goals is for African countries to treat their own children close to home. Through its Fellowship program, more than 180 medical professionals have trained in Israel, many of them from Africa, and they are returning home to lead. Doctors from Zambia, Rwanda, Tanzania and Ethiopia undertaking fellowships were among those present at the anniversary gathering, reflecting the organization’s investment in local medical capacity. Dr. Godwin Godfrey, who trained with the organization in Israel, became Tanzania’s first pediatric cardiac surgeon and now heads the pediatric cardiac center at the Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute in Dar es Salaam. Today, surgeons, cardiologists, intensive care specialists, anesthesiologists, nurses and perfusionists from Zambia, Tanzania, Rwanda and Ethiopia are training at Wolfson Medical Center.
Dr. Zachias Moonde Muulu, Pediatric Cardiac Surgeon (Zambia): “When I complete my fellowship with Save a Child’s Heart next year, I will return to Zambia as the country’s second pediatric cardiac surgeon. My colleague, Dr. Ziwa, who was also trained in Israel, is Zambia’s first pediatric cardiac surgeon and is already back home saving lives.Together, we will serve a population of 21 million people. Our entire pediatric cardiac team has been trained in Israel, and now a second generation of doctors is on its way. I am here alongside more colleagues from Zambia who are also receiving specialized training through Save a Child’s Heart.This is how we build a sustainable future for pediatric cardiac care in Zambia.”
Simon Fisher, Executive Director at Save a Child's Heart: “Thirty years ago, our first patients, two children from Ethiopia, came to Israel for lifesaving heart surgery. Since then, generations of Israeli medical professionals have shared their knowledge with African colleagues who are now saving lives in their own countries. Each generation builds on the work of those who came before it, bringing care within reach of more children. As we look to the next 30 years, our ambition is for the children we save today to raise families of their own in communities where lifesaving heart care is available close to home.”
Haim Taib, Founder of Taib Group and President of Save a Child’s Heart Africa: “For 30 years, Save a Child’s Heart has carried out extraordinary, life-saving work, and I want to thank the organization, its medical teams and its partners for their unwavering commitment to children across Africa. This anniversary is both a moment of gratitude and a call to action: far greater resources and activity are needed to strengthen health systems across the continent and ensure that more children can receive quality care closer to home. The priority must be to strengthen local knowledge, expertise and capabilities so that African countries can build resilient health systems for the long term.”
