Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar says her Government hopes to realise $100 million towards the Children's Life Fund.She said for too long there was unnecessary suffering of children because their parents could ill afford the funding for their medical conditions. The fund is the PM's brainchild.
She said her first note to Cabinet–Note No 1, on assuming office last year was to establish the fund.From then until now, she said, 38 children between the ages of six and 14 have benefited from close to $10 million.She was speaking at the official launch of the fund at the Ballroom, Hilton Hotel and Conference Centre in Port-of-Spain yesterday.The Children's Life Fund Authority (CLFA) which has a fully constituted board of directors has the responsibility to operate, manage and administer the fund.
Before legislation was passed to set up the authority, the fund operated out of the Ministry of Health.The CLFA's chief executive officer is Jeffrey Lewis.The authority's vision is to provide the most vulnerable in society with access to life-saving treatment not available in Trinidad and Tobago.To be eligible for assistance one must be a citizen of T&T, be unmarried and under 18; be referred by a medical specialist in the field of treatment and diagnosed with a life-threatening illness; require treatment that is not available locally and must have medical expenses that exceed 25 per cent of the family's annual income.
Those seeking assistance can obtain information from the office of the CLFA located at the Wendy Fitzwilliam Paediatric Hospital, Mt Hope.Persad-Bissessar said: "Our goal is to raise $100 million geared towards helping families and children in need of life-saving surgeries."Caribbean Airlines Ltd officially presented its US$5 million donation and two fathers received cheques for their sons who were hospitalised and in need of life-saving surgeries.
Health Minister Dr Fuad Khan and Gender, Youth and Child Development Minister Verna St Rose-Greaves also addressed the launch.