12th Global Forum on Humanitarian Medicine in Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery & 3rd Euro-Asian Symposium on Paediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery

24 April 2018

The 12th Global Forum on Humanitarian Medicine in Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery & the 3rd Euro-Asian Symposium on Paediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery were  completed successfully. The symposium was held at MITERA Hospital (N. Louros Conference Center) in Athens. The conference was organized by the Kalangos Foundation, in collaboration with MITERA Hospital and the World Heart Federation, and was supported by the World Health Organization.

Many distinguished scientists and representatives of international NGOs from Europe, USA, Asia and Africa participated as speakers. They arrived in Athens with the aim of disseminating scientific knowledge and raising awareness amongst the medical community about the challenges faced by many developing countries in the area of health care.

The conference fostered dialogue among international stakeholders interested in humanitarian medicine in cardiology and cardiac surgery. It also referred to the situation in Greece and the financial impact on pediatric cardiology and cardiac surgery. In her speech, theDirector of the MITERA Hospital Pediatric Cardiology & Adult Congenital Heart Disease Department, Dr Aphrodite Tzifa,mentioned that “According to recent statistics from UNICEF, 1 in 3 children in Greece live in poverty or are medically uninsured. MITERA Hospital has been involved in charitable activities since the establishment of the Clinic, whilst a charity program for medical investigations and repair of congenital heart diseases has been officially operating since 2015, through the ‘Hearts for All’ initiative.  The need to create a database for the procedures that children undergo was also noted, as this would assist in identifying strong points but also weaknesses in the management of these patients in Greece, leading to improvements of related healthcare services.

On his part, the President and founder of the Global Forum on Humanitarian Medicine in Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery, President of the Kalangos Foundation and Director of the MITERA Hospital Pediatric & Adult Congenital Heart Disease Cardiac Surgery Clinic, Mr Afksendiyos Kalangos, noted, “Through this conference we aspire to continue the efforts that commenced in 2003 with the 1st Global Forum on Humanitarian Medicine in Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery, and contribute in the best possible way to improving the healthcare conditions in developing countries.”