This is Mukashfi, a 7-month-old baby living in Sudan.
HUB Worldwide received 5 donated programmable valves, which are small devices that are surgically placed by neurosurgeons in the heads of patients with a condition called hydrocephalus. Hydrocephalus is a condition in which fluid builds up in the cavities within the brain. This puts too much pressure on the brain causing problems with vision, cognition, coordination, headaches, and seizures. The programmable valve helps shunt the fluid from the brain cavities to relieve the pressure.
Surgically placing one of these shunts can cost up to $3500. In Sudan, a low-income country going through economic crisis, most patients cannot afford to seek medical care and, medical devices like programmable valves are often unavailable. After connecting with doctors in Sudan, we were able to learn about Mukashfi, Fatima, Nadia, and Ibrahim, and Mohamed who had hydrocephalus and were desperately waiting to get an operation their families could not afford. We shipped the devices to Sudan through one of the doctors, and the neurosurgeon in Khartoum performed the operation for them at no cost.
