Thousands raised in fundraising drive for specialist hospital in Kabul

The Bayat Foundation, in partnership with Muslim Aid USA, held a successful Telethon on Saturday night to raise funds for the new Maternal and Neonatal specialist hospital being built in Kabul. 

Calling on the Afghan diaspora, a three-hour phone-in fundraising drive was broadcast on YouTube and managed to raise thousands of dollars. 

Hundreds of people came out in support of the initiative, along with well-known artists and celebrities from around the world.

By 12 noon Kabul time on Sunday just over $80,000 had been donated but this was still short of their $100,000 target.  

With these funds the Bayat Foundation will be able to continue building the state-of-the-art hospital and equip it with up-to-date technology and the equipment needed.

The hospital will be able to provide specialist treatment that is not available in the country currently and will provide the most advanced levels of Surgical, Maternal, Pediatric, and Cancer treatment available for women and children.

Speaking during the April 2018 inauguration of the project, Dr. Ehsanollah Bayat, the Co-Chairman of the Bayat Foundation said: “The new Bayat Maternity and Neonatal Hospital, when it is complete, will be the most modern, advanced and capable medical facility in Afghanistan.” 

 “We look forward to the day that the new Bayat Maternity and Neonatal Hospital is open, and we can begin providing healthcare to the people who need it most.”

This hospital initiative is part of the foundation’s commitment to improving the lives of all Afghans who have endured decades of hardship and war. Poverty levels are currently at an all-time high and with the COVID-19 pandemic, an already fragile health system is struggling.

Women and children meanwhile have borne the brunt of this and are in desperate need of assistance, especially as Afghan women suffer in silence because of the lack of proper healthcare facilities and the necessary medical resources, including equipment and medicine, and also the limited access to any form of specialist treatment. 

But the Bayat Foundation continues to work towards improving conditions for women and children in Afghanistan and is committed to breaking down the barriers preventing women from getting the help they need. 

Many Afghan women do not know they have serious medical conditions that can be easily diagnosed, treated and cured. Instead, they suffer in silence and all too often die at a young age due to a lack of knowledge and limited access to doctors – along with social stigmas. 

The new Bayat Maternity and Neonatal Hospital aims to end this and to change the lives of women. 

The hospital will have five specialist healthcare centers including a Women’s Surgical Theater (with a special focus on fistula treatment and recovery), Pediatric Audiology Clinic, Endoscopy Clinic, Eye Clinic and Women’s Cancer Clinic.

These five specialized healthcare capabilities, together with the Hospital’s Blood Bank, will be able to provide highly specific treatments that are currently unavailable at other hospitals and healthcare centers in Afghanistan. 

The Women’s Surgical Theater will however be critical in saving the lives of Afghan women as it will provide diagnosis and treatment of Obstetric Fistula, a devastating childbirth injury that occurs when women give birth without hospital facilities, or without the assistance of medically trained attendants.

Afghanistan remains one of the most dangerous places in the world to give birth and there are an estimated 396 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births in the country, according to MSF which stated that childbirth without skilled attendance represents a major threat to the survival and wellbeing of Afghan women and their newborns. 

But in addition to specialized surgical treatments, the Hospital’s Women’s Cancer Center will provide essential screening, diagnosis and treatment capabilities which will address—and reduce—the rising levels of Cervical Cancer among Afghan women.

Since 2005, the US-based Bayat Foundation has promoted the well-being of the Afghan people. 

Founded and directed by Ehsanollah Bayat and Fatema Bayat, the Foundation has contributed to more than 300 projects dedicated to improving the quality of life for the youth, women, poor, and elderly of Afghanistan; including the construction of 13 maternity hospitals that have now treated over two million mothers and babies.

Donations for the new hospital can still be made and for anyone who would still like to donate you can follow this link: https://www.launchgood.com/afgtelethon 

Or for more information contact the Foundation at info@bayatfoundation.org

To watch the full Telethon program on YouTube: