The Neonate Fund

The Figures Speak For Themselves

4.2 m usd

425

newborns

As of December 2011

425 newborns of needy families have been supported by the fund of whom 113 babies were transferred from other hospitals.

10 K - 15 k

yet can go up to

50 000 k

The average support per patient costs between 10,000 and 15,000 USD, yet can go up to 50,000 USD or even more.

The Neonate Fund does not only cover specific procedures or medications, yet the support is provided as part of the final patient bill.

12%

premature or sick

Statistics made by(NCPNN)

Statistics made by the National Collaborative Perinatal Neonatal Network (NCPNN), show that 12% of neonates in Lebanon are born prematurely or sick.
124,597

births

in 2017

14,950

neonates

per year

These account for approximately 14,950 neonates per year, taking into consideration that the total number of births in 2017 was 124.950, as reported by the Ministry of Public Health. The responsibility and commitment of the Neonate Fund is increasing as the number of needy newborns increases. The percentage of neonates supported by the Fund is on the rise since the inception of the fund, and we expect the number to continue increasing.
In Lebanon, 12% of neonates are born premature or sick, according to statistics from the National Collaborative Perinatal Neonatal Network (NCPNN), a hospital-based network. These account for approximately 14,950 neonates per year, taking into consideration that the total number of births in 2017 was 124,597 as reported by the Ministry of Public Health. Causes of prematurity are not well defined yet and most preterm births happen spontaneously and unexpectedly and require immediate medical attention.
This is where the eagerly anticipated happy event of having a healthy newborn turns into a devastating experience full of great uncertainty and anxiety.

In addition to the indescribable emotional toll, this news also imposes a great financial burden on many families who struggle to pay for the intensive medical care that their child so desperately needs.
Five mothers, whose newborn babies required immediate medical attention due to prematurity or illnesses upon birth, joined efforts to establish the Neonate Fund.

STORIES

A success story of Triplets! Only 10 days before Christmas 2020....

It was the voice of a father running to see his wife who had to deliver prematuredue to an emergency….“I need your help he said! I don’t know what to do! mywife is delivering premature triplets, and I cannot afford the deposit the hospitalof delivery has asked me for”. The Neonate fund advised that the 3 babies willimmediately be transferred after birth to AUBMC NICU to receive the care theyneed, with full financial support! That confused voice of the father calls in sadnessthe next morning to announce the loss of his wife after delivery….The Neonate fund arranged the life saving transfer of the triplets who’s weightranged between 1,200 grams and 1,400 grams, immediately to NICU at AUBMC. Thefather in shock said “ I don’t know what I could have done without you…” “They losttheir mother, that’s true! Yet YOU saved their lives!” The triplets are today at home,filling it with the joy and happiness the father saw in his wife’s eyes, moments aftershe delivered and saw her babies and before she left them in good hands…
“I may have LITTLE feet but I make BIG strides every single day”

Shoushan Vartanian was so excited to celebrate the news of her pregnancy with her first child. Unfortunately, her happiness did not last very long. She was 4 months pregnant when she found out there is something wrong with her baby. Baby Sarkis Nareg was diagnosed with diaphragmatic hernia by ultrasound. “I remember every second of that year, all I needed was hope from the doctors that my baby has a chance to survive” says Shoushan.
Shoushan Vartanian was so excited to celebrate the news of her pregnancy with her first child. Unfortunately, her happiness did not last very long. She was 4 months pregnant when she found out there is something wrong with her baby. Baby Sarkis Nareg was diagnosed with diaphragmatic hernia by ultrasound. “I remember every second of that year, all I needed was hope from the doctors that my baby has a chance to survive” says Shoushan.Shoushan and her husband were very worried. They consulted with the director of newborn services at the American University of Beirut Medical Center. He explained that diaphragmatic hernia is a birth defect in which there is an abnormal opening in the diaphragm. The opening allows part of the organs from the belly to move into the chest cavity near the lungs. He advised that their baby can be treated by surgery to repair the diaphragm, and if there were no complications the baby will survive.“I wasn’t excited to prepare his room or buy him clothes or anything because I wasn’t sure if my baby was going to survive” says ShoushanThe surgery was to cost 25,000$ to 30,000 $ in addition to the cost of the NICU stay that ranges between 1,500$ to 2,000$ per day. The financial burden came next to get Shoushan and her husband worried, as they could not afford to pay this amount.“I started doing the math in my mind for the approximate total cost and got worried about the numbers” Razmik Vartanian explainsThey learnt about The Neonate Fund at the American University of Beirut  dedicated to financially assist newborns admitted to the NICU at AUBMC and sought their help. The Neonate Fund committed to financially support baby Sarkis Nareg and give him this chance to survive.“When we learnt about the financial support by the Neonate Fund to do the surgery, we felt relieved and in safe hands” says ShoushanBaby Sarkis Nareg was born and 23 hours later he was in the surgery room for a lifesaving surgery. It was a difficult and delicate case and some babies do not survive due to this type of malformation, Sarkis Nareg was breathing with one lung. Fortunately there were no major complications and he made it.“When I entered the NICU after my baby’s surgery, the nurse gave me my baby immediately saying “hold your son closely” I started crying because it was at this moment that I felt I was a real mother” Shoushan Sarkis Nareg stayed in NICU for 22 days, after which he was discharged home fully healthy. He is now almost 3 years old and living his life to the fullest
“I may have LITTLE feet but I make BIG strides every single day”

Through generous donations and funding, we have been able to release from our care survivors born as small as 560 grams, and others who had to stay up to 277 days in the NICU.
Despite the availability of care, the neonatal mortality rate is still high in Lebanon. In many cases, the reason is that the families of these newborn infants cannot afford the care that their babies desperately need, and NICU is only available in a few tertiary centers in Lebanon, as well as highly specialized and trained medical staff and equipment that can deal with the multiple problems faced by premature infants, of which is the AUBMC. Accordingly some neonates from all over Lebanon need to be transferred to the NICU at AUBMC including very preterm newborns as well as complicated cardiac cases whose transfer is extremely critical. Due to the unavailability of the appropriate transfer services for neonates in Lebanon, and with the limited resources available, transfer of these babies is affecting their quality of life. For the safety of the newborn, medical transportation of high-risk and critically ill newborns is completely different from the transportation of adults, and requires highly skilled personnel and specialized equipment (God made me so / I was made so) you can see that SMALL things are STRONG