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here is much to be said and many studies available about the incidences of CHD in children in Africa and throughout the world. These reports however generally only deal in raw fact and do not look at the emotional and social burden that infant disability and death places on the families and their communities.

 

The biggest sadness is that 85% of these mortalities could be prevented if the funding were available to help these little babies, most of which are under 1 year old.

 

Congenital Heart Disease is a large, rapidly emerging global problem in child health. Without the ability to substantially alter the prevalence of congenital heart disease, interventions and resources must be used to improve survival and quality of life, but who funds these interventions?

 

The incidence of congenital heart disease (CHD) ranges from 19 to 75 per 1,000 births. It is also the leading cause of birth defects and the second leading cause of death in the first year of life after infectious diseases.

A significant number of South African children, however, die from conditions that can be successfully managed only at specialised centres. An estimated 11 000 are born annually in South Africa with this condition.

 

Each year approximately 4 500 of this total require surgical intervention. With appropriate care, the prognosis for most of these children is excellent, with at least 85% expected to survive to adulthood.

 

South Africa has been steadily falling behind internationally accepted levels of care for children with congenital and acquired heart disease.

 

In 2006, approximately 1 300 patients were operated on for CHD in South Africa, only 800 of them in the public service hospitals, which serve close to 85% of the population.

 

This means that less than 25% of the children in South Africa with CHD who rely on the public health services receive the care they need. Every year over 3 000 children die or remain disabled from their congenital heart condition.