Officials from the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) reported registering over 3,000 children with heart defects last year in the country.

According to ARCS, more than 2,400 of these children have been referred to hospitals within the country, and the rest have been sent abroad for treatment.

Mudasir Hamraz, spokesperson for the Afghan Red Crescent Society, told TOLOnews: “3,225 children suffering from heart defects have been registered, of which 2,445 have been referred to hospitals within the country for treatment.”

Nine-month-old Ahmad, who had a heart defect, was brought from Ghazni to Kabul. His family says that Ahmad is now in better condition after being referred and undergoing surgery at a private hospital.

Mahmood, Ahmad's father, told a TOLOnews reporter: “We came from Ghazni province, and then we went to Cure Hospital. After an echo, it was discovered he had a heart defect, so I went to the Red Crescent, and they referred us to this hospital where he has now been operated on and is recovering well.”

Altaf, a doctor in Kabul, explained why children are more susceptible to heart defects: 'The occurrence of heart defects is influenced by consanguineous marriages between close relatives like cousins, self-medication with drugs that may cause obesity, tobacco use, and having a family history of heart defects.'

According to officials at the Afghan Red Crescent Society, the treatment cost for each patient with a heart defect ranges from 60,000 to 200,000 afghanis.