UN Awards First Israeli Organization the UN Population Award

News provided by

Jun 19, 2018, 08:43 ET

NEW YORK and TEL AVIV, Israel, June 19, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres presents the 2018 UN Population Award to Israel's largest international humanitarian non-profit, Save a Child's Heart, during an official ceremony at UN headquarters on June 26^th.

This marks the first time that an Israeli organization will receive the prestigious award. The award recognizes Save a Child's Heart (SACH) for its "outstanding achievements in population and health."

The award will be presented to three SACH physicians Drs. Lior Sasson, Akiva Tamir and Sion Houri.

Save a Child's Heart was founded in 1995 at the Wolfson Medical Center in Holon, Israel, with the mission to improve the quality of pediatric cardiac care for children in developing nations and to create centers of competence in these countries. SACH's goal is to better the health and welfare of all children, regardless of the child's nationality, religion, color, gender, or financial situation.

To date, SACH has saved the lives of more than 4,700 children from 57 countries in Africa, South America, Europe, Asia, and throughout the Middle East. Half of the children treated by SACH are Palestinian children from the West Bank and Gaza.

Every Tuesday SACH holds a cardiology clinic for Palestinian children. Twenty to thirty children arrive at Wolfson Medical Center every week with their parents, to be examined by the SACH heart physicians. Doctors accompany the children from Gaza who also come to work in the clinic with their Israeli partners.

SACH has also trained more than 120 medical personnel. The organization holds preoperative and follow-up cardiology clinics in Israel and abroad on a weekly basis, offering a comprehensive training program within Israel for doctors and nurses from developing countries and leads surgical and educational missions to partner countries.

This week in Israel, 30 children are recovering from heart surgery or waiting operations. They are from Ethiopia, Senegal, Zanzibar, Tanzania, Romania, the West Bank, Gaza, Myanmar and Fiji. SACH is currently training at Wolfson doctors and nurses from Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, and the Palestinian Authority.

Save a Child's Heart is currently building an International Pediatric Cardiac Center at Wolfson Medical Center that will enable SACH to save more children every year. The 7 story building will serve as a Children's Hospital - The Sylvan Adams Children's Hospital - for the Israeli population in the area. The building will be completed in 2019.

Invitation

The Secretary-General of the United Nations requests the pleasure of your company at a ceremony in honor of the Laureates of the 2018 United Nations Population Award:

Save a Child's Heart, Israel, Guttmacher Institute, U.S. (Institutional Category)

Dr. Sir Prince Ramsey, Antigua and Barbuda (Individual Category)

On Tuesday, 26 June 2018, 4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
ECOSOC Chamber, United Nations Headquarters
[email protected] 1-212-297-4952 or
Kindly present this card at the UN Visitors' Entrance on First Avenue at 46^th Street
4:30 p.m.-6:00 p.m. – Ceremony
6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. – Reception

Release time: 4:30 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time), June 26, 2018
UN Ceremony for 2018 United Nations Population Award winner – Save a Child's Heart
ECOSOC Chamber, United Nations Headquarters, June 26 at 4:30 p.m.
Israel: Tamar Shapira: [email protected] +972 528 66 9446 cell
U.S.: David Litwack: [email protected] +1 301 785 0720 cell
Video is available