Riyadh: Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict Vanessa Frazier visited the conjoined twins at King Abdullah Specialist Children's Hospital at King Abdulaziz Medical City of the Ministry of National Guard in Riyadh on Monday. During the visit, Frazier was briefed on the twins' health conditions and met with their families and the medical teams overseeing their treatment plans and stages.
According to Saudi Press Agency, Frazier stressed that the care Saudi Arabia provides to conjoined twins through the Saudi Conjoined Twins Program is of great importance, describing it as a genuine source of hope and a model to be emulated. She praised the Kingdom's efforts to care for children and its generosity in providing various forms of healthcare to conjoined twins from around the world and supporting them throughout their lives. She also underscored the importance of showcasing this model to other countries and encouraging them to provide care and support for children.
The Saudi Conjoined Twins Program has been performing separation surgeries since 1990. It has successfully carried out 72 separation surgeries on conjoined twins from 28 countries across five continents and studied 158 cases. The program is one of the Kingdom's humanitarian initiatives for children born conjoined, covering all costs of separation surgeries, treatment, and post-separation rehabilitation, as well as transportation and accommodation expenses for the twins and their families in Saudi Arabia throughout the period of medical care.