Over 185 institutions are scheduled to take part in the three-day Besat Al-Rih Carnival, starting Tuesday. The carnival, Ramadan's biggest social event in Jeddah, is held annually by the National Home Health Care Foundation (NHHCF) under the patronage of Princess Nouf Bint Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz. The proceeds of the carnival will go to the foundation's charitable activities. Unlike previous years, the organizing committee decided to hold the carnival at Jeddah International Center for Exhibitions and Forums instead of Jeddah Hilton Hotel to provide extra space for stalls and parking. “This year, we have received support from more than 185 institutions from both inside and outside the Kingdom,” said Randa Al-Fadul, head of the carnival organizing committee. This number is twice the number of all the previous carnivals, she said and added that all the stalls had been rented several months ago. The carnival is to display a collection of products including food, home appliances, artwork, gift items, and jewelry that meet the needs of families for the month of Ramadan. At a press conference here Sunday, the organizing committee shed light on the charitable services provided by the foundation. The foundation, established in 1997, is mainly financed by the Bisat Al-Rih Carnival and caters to the needs of three percent of the Kingdom's patients requiring home health care. The foundation needs additional support from the private sector to extend its services to cover more patients. “We have served more than 8,451 patients in their homes during the last decade while the total number of patients in need of home health care is more than 48,000 in Makkah Province alone,” said Abeer Kabbani, head of Resources Development and Public Relations at the foundation. She added that the foundation was set up to reduce the overload on public hospitals by providing home health care for poor patients who are in need of long-term medical services. “We send medical teams to the patients' homes to check their health status and provide necessary treatment,” said Sharaf Al-Masri, Director of Medical and Social Services. “We provide each patient with medical equipment, such as blood pressure manometers, beds, wheelchairs, levers, mattresses, respiration equipment, and oxygen masks,” said Al-Masri. “We also provide them with supplies, such as feeding tubes, liquid nutrition, blood pressure monitors, diabetes monitors, together with the relevant strips, phlegm suction devices, burns pressure belts, diapers, and blue bed sheets, and medicines that are not given at public hospitals,” she added. She said that the team also provides special training courses for the patients' families on how to use the medical equipment. Jawaher Nather, administrative head of Medical Services Department of NHHCF, said that although the foundation provides excellent medical services for patients, it still faces some obstacles. “Unfortunately, we do not have enough financial resources as medical services require a lot of money along with the cost of the medical staff,” said Nather. She added that the idea of Home Health Care came after World War II in European countries, and said that it is still not widespread in the Arab World.
