Sheikha Jawaher donates Dh5 million to children’s cancer hospital

SHARJAH // Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed, wife of the Ruler of Sharjah, has donated Dh5 million to the Children's Cancer Hospital 57357 in Egypt.

The hospital, which depends fully on donations, is one of the largest of its type in the world.

Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, has allocated Dh1 million annually to set up a fund to aid children at the hospital, the Friends of Cancer Patients (FoCP) announced on Wednesday.

The gesture by Sheikha Jawaher coincided with the seventh anniversary of the hospital, on July 7. She is the founder and royal patron of the FoCP, international ambassador of the World Cancer Declaration for the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and international ambassador for Childhood Cancer for UICC.

Sheikha Jawaher has recognised the hospital’s efforts to relieve the distress of children with cancer by offering free treatment and care for thousands in Egypt and other Arab and African countries.

Health care was an essential right of children to lead a normal and healthy life, said the FoCP.

“Cancer is one of the leading causes of death among children in developing countries, which affects over 250,000 children every year,” Sheikha Jawaher said. “About 90,000 children die from cancer each year and 80 per cent of them are from low and middle-income countries.

“These figures must ring an alarm bell for the entire world to exert greater efforts to save the lives of innocent children by providing medical equipment and qualified medical teams for the early detection of cancer, and offering the necessary medical and psychological support for children and their families to help them overcome this emergent ordeal.”

She thanked Dr Sheikh Sultan for his support for various humanitarian issues, and praised his initiative to set up the Good Will Fund for the hospital.

The 57357 Hospital has 260 beds but will have a total of 320 when a new unit opens next month.

Sheikha Jawaher’s donation will be used to provide the hospital with a picture archiving and communication system to reduce waiting times and lengths of stay, eliminate unnecessary exposure to radiation, and help provide real-time and more accurate exam reports.

As well as the donation, she has urged philanthropists and corporations to support non-profit organisations that spread awareness of paediatric cancer.