A delivery of medicines and medical supplies recently arrived at Angkor Hospital for Children (AHC) in Siem Reap, Cambodia to support their work providing free health care to impoverished children.

The shipment –  valued at $250,000 – consisted of 19 pallets containing specialty surgical equipment, among other supplies.

In a thank you letter to Direct Relief’s supporters, AHC staff said these tools are especially needed as the nonprofit hospital continues to see increased demand for surgical care.

Each month, the Angkor surgical team performs an average of 1,000 major and minor surgeries. In 2010, they opened the country’s first open heart surgery program available for poor families with children who suffered from heart disease in Cambodia. The demand is high and there are now 1,500 heart patients on the waiting list.

But that’s not the only area that’s growing. Last month, the hospital opened a new neonatal ward to help their smallest patients (and their mothers) get a healthy start to life.

In the last four years, AHC has treated 1,049 neonates (babies under 28 days old). Previously, just five beds were dedicated to these babies, but due to an increasing need, they will now be able to care for 12 neonates at any one time.

Direct Relief is excited to hear Angkor Children’s Hospital continues to grow and is privileged to have worked with their team to improve the health and lives of children in need in Cambodia for nearly a decade.