AJC Helps Fund Equipment to Treat Children with Serious Heart Conditions in Zambia

American Jewish Committee (AJC), in partnership with the Stanley, Marion, Paul and Edward Bergman Family Foundation and the Israeli nonprofit Save a Child's Heart (SACH), is working to ensure more children in Zambia have access to lifesaving heart-disease treatment.

Announced during the opening ceremony Wednesday for Israel's embassy in the capital of Lusaka, the new machine at National Heart Hospital in Lusaka will enable the hospital to perform critical cardiac surgeries on some of Zambia's most vulnerable children.

"This machine will allow the hospital to perform lifesaving surgery on some of Zambia's sickest children," said AJC Africa Institute Director Wayne Sussman, who was in the capital for the embassy ceremony. "More Zambian children will receive critical operations far sooner and the hospital can dramatically shorten their waiting lists with this purchase."

The $200,000 machine was jointly funded, with the AJC-along with the Bergman Family Foundation-and SACH providing half the cost. The Zambian government supplied the remaining $100,000, which Sussman highlighted as a testament to the strengthening partnership between Zambia and Israel.

The new equipment will enable Zambian doctors to double the number of children who can be treated for serious heart conditions. Additionally, SACH provided specialized training for the hospital's cardiac team at Wolfson Medical Center in Israel, empowering local medical professionals to perform surgeries independently.

Over the past three decades, SACH has treated 8,000 children from 72 countries, including more than 200 children from Zambia. The organization continues to transport and treat children from Africa and other regions during the current war in Gaza.

AJC also worked to provide assistance to Zambia last year, when it provided a grant to Tevel, an Israeli NGO, to deliver food aid at a time when Zambia was suffering from a cholera outbreak and severe drought.

Based in Johannesburg, the AJC Africa Institute connects the American Jewish community with the African continent and forges ties between the American Jewish community and senior African government officials and civil society leaders. The Institute's diplomatic missions educate American Jewish leaders about Africa, raising awareness of the challenges and opportunities facing the continent and introducing leaders to their African counterparts who share common goals. For more, please visit www.ajc.org/africa .