Reducing the wait for pediatric heart care
It’s almost impossible to imagine. In Malaysia, 2,000 – 3,000 children require heart surgery every year, yet most don’t get the care they need.
With few pediatric cardiac programs in this nation of 34 million people, a persistent waiting list for care remains.
To meet the demand, the country is building its neonatal and infant capacity, as only three facilities provide comprehensive pediatric care for all Malaysian children.
The need: by the numbers
babies are born with congenital heart disease (CHD) each year
children born with CHD need surgery in their first year of life
A decade and more: advocating for pediatric heart care in Malaysia since 2008.
Malaysia occupies parts of the Malay Peninsula and the island of Borneo, making travel to clinics all but easy. Obstacles such as geographic challenges and lack of trained pediatric cardiac specialists contribute to the ongoing issues of access to care.
The Government of Malaysia guarantees coverage of pediatric cardiac care to children with heart disease at all Ministry of Health hospitals and supports access to treatment at other centers like Institut Jantung Negara (IJN) in Kuala Lumpur. This hospital is a Children’s HeartLink Center of Excellence, which also happens to be where the most complex heart cases are sent.
Despite the protection from financial burden, children are dying while waiting for care.
Our vision is a world in which all children have access to the cardiac care they need.
Children’s HeartLink is committed to working with local providers to strengthen diagnostic and treatment capacity and increase access to pediatric cardiac care across Malaysia. In 2018, Sultan Idris Shah Hospital (formerly known as Serdang Hospital), a government-funded hospital in Sepang, established a partnership with Children’s HeartLink. We’re not done yet. Our goal is to develop three Children’s HeartLink Centers of Excellence by 2030.
View our fact sheet to learn more about our efforts in Malaysia
Our Partner Hospitals
Institut Jantung Negara (IJN)
2007
10,960
Sultan Idris Shah Hospital (fka Serdang Hospital)
2018
10,927
