They die while we know how to save them --- Japan Heart plans to open another hospital in Cambodia to bridge the survival gap between countries. Patients survive in high-income countries thanks to the developed medical technologies, while those in low-income countries are left to die because they cannot afford it. The hospital, “Asia Children’s Medical Center,” aims to eliminate inequality in heal

The last stronghold for the life of children

Japan Heart Asia Children Medical Center: a high-standard medical facility to end the inequality in survival

We will construct an advanced medical care facility of 200 beds on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. Our goal is to provide the healthcare service to treat children's diseases, especially pediatric cancer, and thus reduce child mortality. We also plan to train local healthcare personnel. We will accept patients from neighboring countries such as Myanmar and Laos who cannot afford the treatment in their countries.

To close the survival gap in Asia as much as possible by 2030

“Survival Gap” is a difference in the probability of survival for a given disease, especially that which needs advanced medical treatment like cancer. While 80% of pediatric cancer patients survive more than five years in high-income countries, only 20% of those in low-income countries make it out.

Children in low-income countries perish because they don't have access to appropriate medical care: their lives could have been saved if only they had been born in another, more prosperous country.

Children who need advanced care are often left behind.

As infectious diseases are major causes of death in low-income countries, international organizations put great efforts into preventive care, such as vaccinations and sanitary hygiene awareness programs. Those programs are helpful because they are cost-effective and applicable to the large public. On the other hand, patients who require advanced medical treatment are often left behind for the number of patients is small, treatments cost, and they demand skilled personnel to treat.

The need for a new institution

Thanks to your donations, Japan Heart established “the Japan Heart Children's Medical Center” in 2016 and treated 116,000 cases to date. Every day the center receives patients from all over Cambodia; in terms of pediatric oncology, the center now treats as many patients as the leading hospitals for pediatric cancer in Japan.

However, only 1 out of 20 Cambodians can reach the current hospital. A new institution is indispensable to serve every child throughout Asia who requires advanced medical care.

All children should have a right to medical treatment.

I am Hideto Yoshioka, founder of Japan Heart.
Today many children die because they cannot go to hospitals.
We must reach children from all over the country who have yet to receive medical care.
But the hospital we currently run is already overloaded.
In this country, some people are now wealthy enough to go abroad and receive medical treatment. At the same time, only a few hospitals offer therapy to those who cannot afford it.
If you get cancer in this country, you will likely see that your only choice is to sit down and die.
The new hospital makes it possible to offer more children another option: to live.
It means that with that hospital, children of this society, regardless of birth, religion, or economic situation, will have equal access to advanced medical care.
I define the project as a touchstone for humanity.
If the people want this world to be sustainable or think that children are its treasure, then the project should reach its goal.
Hideto Yoshioka, founder of Japan Heart/ pediatric surgeon

If the treatment weren't free of charge, this 3-year-old girl would have to give up her life.

Sobhan, a little Cambodian girl, was diagnosed with liver cancer when she was 3. In her country, only a few medical institutions provide treatment for pediatric cancer, making it difficult for patients to access. Even if they reach the medical institutions, many have to give up because of the high treatment costs.

Sobhan's parents have once given up too. However, they are lucky enough to have someone who told them about Japan Heart children's medical center where their little daughter received surgery and subsequent treatment for free.

Only a handful of children are as lucky as Sobhan. In Cambodia and other low-income countries, children from families of modest means either cannot afford medical expenses or cannot have a chance to see a doctor: diagnosed or not, they are left to die.

Japan Heart plans to open Asia Children's Medical Center in 2025.

Planned location: Takmau, Kandal Province (20 minutes by car from the center of Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia)
Phnom Penh is a crucial location on the Southern Economic Corridor, ASEAN's main economic and logistics artery. It has excellent transportation access within the country and neighboring countries, including Myanmar and Laos.
The planned location is also close to the Takmau International Airport, scheduled to open in 2026. We intend to take in patients from other countries (e.g., Myanmar and Laos) in the future.

What the new hospital will bring

The new hospital is capable to take in more patients from Cambodia and neighboring countries. In addition, we plan to offer training programs at the new hospital to improve the quality of medical personnel in these countries.

The new hospital is just a beginning

We aim to make the Asian Pediatric Medical Center a place for advanced pediatric care throughout Asia: we deliver the highest quality medical care to needy patients and offer the best training for medical professionals in the Asia.

Your support will change the future of children!

Your support is indispensable to see the new hospital in action. Children suffer from poverty and illness right now: their parents are helpless, for they cannot do anything for their beloved ones.
These little lives suffer because they just happened to be born in a country where an ordinary family cannot afford quality healthcare. If only they were born in Japan, they could easily be saved, thanks to the medical care we take for granted.
We can be a bridge.
We invite you to tackle the issue together and save as many children as we can. Our goal is to bridge the survival gap and realize zero inequality in terms of life.
It has been a dream for every child and their family, everywhere in the world. Let's make it happen together.

Click here if you want to make donation as a　▶︎ company or corporation

A message from our project ambassador: Keisuke Honda

It is an honor for me to become ambassador for the new hospital project that Japan Heart will open in Cambodia in 2025.
I have witnessed many children living in poverty in Cambodia. They cannot go to hospitals even when they are suffering from life-threatening illnesses, which is not uncommon in developing countries.
The upcoming "Japan Heart Asia Pediatric Medical Center" will save many children's lives and allow them to live with dreams and hopes. I'm convinced this is a tremendously important initiative, and I am honored to support it.
If the plan resonates with you, I invite you to participate in the project as it pleases you.

Support Menu and Returns

①Founder Emeritus (1 million yen and above)

To the first 100 people donating 1 million yen or more, we offer the title "Founder Emeritus."
Their names will be engraved on the memorial plate in the new hospital and listed on the website.

②Sickbed provider

Sickbeds cost around 100,000 yen per unit. You can directly support the purchase of those beds.

③Supporter

Regular donation starts from 5,000 yen.

Japan Heart received “Japan SDGs Award Foreign Minister's Prize”

Japan Heart received “Japan SDGs Award Foreign Minister's Prize” in 2021 for providing free-of-charge treatment of pediatric cancer patients in Cambodia.

About us

Established in 2004, Japan Heart has been working to realize a society in which all people, regardless of country, region, race, politics, religion, or circumstance, have equal access to medical care and be satisfied of their lives. Our credo is "Provide medical care to the medically isolated area".
For over 25 years, we have provided free medical care to the deprived people in Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos. Those countries are the most underdeveloped in Southeast Asia. We currently treat twenty to thirty thousand cases per year.

Result (as of FY 2021)
The number of treatments in three countries: 20,255
The total number of treatments for 18 years of activity: 305,970

In 2016, we built our hospital in Cambodia, and in 2018 the hospital opened a pediatric ward and started to treat pediatric cancer. The hospital of our own let us provide advanced medical care that many other hospitals cannot offer: it attracts patients from Cambodia and abroad.
The new hospital project aims to reach children throughout Asia who need advanced medical care.
Japan Heart official website:https://www.japanheart.org/en/

Tax deduction:

Donors living in Japan are eligible to receive tax benefits as a certified non-profit organization (equivalent of US 501(c) organization) accredited by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.
A receipt issued by Japan Heart and a tax return is required.

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