TBHF Pledges $2.37mn To Reconstruct St. George Hospital In Beirut

TBHF pledges $2.37mn to reconstruct St. George Hospital in Beirut

SHARJAH, (Pakistan Point News - 15th Dec, 2020) Sharjah-based global humanitarian organisation, The Big Heart Foundation (TBHF), has announced the allocation of US$2,369,300 (AED8,702,912) to support the reconstruction of the emergency and trauma (ERT) unit of the Saint George Hospital University Medical Centre (SGHUMC) in Beirut that was rendered inoperative by the devastating explosion that shook the Lebanese capital in August 2020.

The project falls under the Salam Beirut initiative, an emergency aid-and-relief campaign launched by Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, Chairperson of TBHF and Eminent Advocate for Refugee Children at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), to boost local and internationally-aided relief operations directed towards restoring normalcy to Beirut.

The reconstruction project was launched in December and is expected to be completed in three months, and will utilise TBHF’s funding for both, infrastructural development as well as for the purchase of medical and administrative equipment. Once complete, the ERT unit at SGHUMC which will be named after "The Big Heart Foundation" is expected to increase its capacity to treat 40,000 patients per year, which will allow the non-profit medical institution to cater to the surrounding community.

A section of TBHF’s funding will be used for the development of a new paediatric section that will include three regular paediatric cubicles, one paediatric resuscitation room and one paediatric isolation room. An isolation unit of international standards equipped to deal with all kinds of possible outbreaks including nuclear, radiological, biological and chemical (NRBC), will be constructed as part of the project, which will be equipped with the latest medical equipment.

SGHUMC is a non-profit hospital that has served its community for 142 years. Standing only 900 metres away from the epicentre of the Port Beirut blast, it became non-operational for the first time since its establishment in 1878.

Speaking about why Salam Beirut identified this hospital reconstruction project as one of its benefactors, Mariam Al Hammadi, Director of TBHF, said, "Saint George Hospital University Medical Centre is a highly respected institution, one that embodies a strong sense of civic pride. TBHF chose it for its historical and social relevance in the city of Beirut and beyond. A prestigious humanitarian landmark, it represents a tangible heritage of the city’s cultural identity and has etched itself into the fabric of the Lebanese community, which it has been serving for more than a century."

She added, "Boosting this prestigious institution’s capacities are in line with Sheikha Jawaher’s consistent and strategic efforts to improve people’s access to healthcare, especially for those who cannot afford expensive medical care, in this region and across the world. For our shared humanitarian goals and efforts to serve the maximum people in need with compassion and generosity, SGHUMC and TBHF are natural partners, and thus supporting this project is an extension of TBHF’s moral responsibility."