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- EDD K. USMAN | X (Twitter): @edd1819 | Instagram: @bluestar0910 |Facebook: SDN – SciTech & Digital News
MANILA (SDN) — For the third time, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under the patronage of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) bin Abdulaziz will sponsor a free separation surgery for Filipino conjoined twins.
The conjoined twins — Klea and Maurice Ann Misa — arrived in Saudi Arabia on May 17 and will be undergoing the delicate procedure at the King Abdulaziz Medical City under the Ministry of National Guard in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, once they passed a comprehensive medical evaluation.
As in the past 146 separation surgeries since 1994, pediatric surgeon Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah will lead the medical and surgical team in separating Klea and Maurice Ann.
It can be recalled that the Kingdom sponsored the successful free separation surgeries of twins Princess Ann and Princess Mae Manzo of Mandaue City, Cebu, in 2004, and Akhizah and Ayeesha Yusoph in 2024 when they were five years and six months old.
SDN — SciTech and Digital News learned from a reliable source last year that the surgery on Akhizah and Ayeesha cost around Php32 million. Every centavo was free, shouldered by the Kingdom’s King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief), of which Dr. Al-Rabeeah is supervisor general.
Kingdom expected to continue its pioneering medical program on conjoined twins
Before the Misa twins left for Saudi Arabia, new Saudi Ambassador to the Philippines Faisal Ebraheem Al-Ghamdi hosted them and their parents at the Saudi Embassy in Makati City, Metro Manila, as he bid them a safe and comfortable journey to Riyadh, where all the past 146 separation surgeries were conducted led by Dr. Al-Rabeeah.
“In a heartfelt embodiment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s leading humanitarian and international role, and as a continuation of the generous path charted by its wise leadership, the Kingdom is preparing to receive the Filipino conjoined twins, Klea and Maurice Ann, for a highly delicate separation surgery—fully sponsored by the Kingdom — under the Saudi Conjoined Twins Separation Program. This program operates under the gracious patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince and Prime Minister — may Allah preserve them,” the embassy said in a statement released to reporters before the third twins’ flight.
The embassy noted that Klea and Maurice Ann’s case is the third for Filipino conjoined twins to undergo the procedure under the Kingdom’s “pioneering humanitarian program — an emblem of the enduring and robust bilateral ties between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of the Philippines.
“It also underscores the spirit of shared cooperation in health and humanitarian affairs, anchored in the noble values and principles that the Kingdom advocates both regionally and globally.”
The embassy statement described the Saudi Conjoined Twins Separation Program as one of the world’s “most prominent global health initiatives” which started in 1990 and has already conducted more than 146 separation surgeries for conjoined twins coming from 27 mostly poor countries.
It strengthens and re-affirms the “unwavering commitment” of the Kingdom in the service of humanity as it promotes “compassion and solidarity, and supporting vulnerable communities wherever they may be,” the statement said further.
“Through this initiative, the Kingdom reaffirms its global mission in the fields of humanitarian aid and development — rooted in its steadfast principles and inspired by its ambitious vision to advance global health and achieve sustainable development” under the leadership of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed and other leaders of the Kingdom in the past.
Dr. Al-Rabeeah and his team of medical professionals operated twins Akhiza and Ayeesha on June 6, 2024, at the King Abdullah Specialist Children’s Hospital in Riyadh. They were joined in the abdomen.
The two children of Hashima Marcaida Yusoph are now more than six years old. Her family lives in Panabo City, Davao Region, but is originally from Lanao del Sur province.
Princess Ann and Princess Mae Manzo, the first Filipino conjoined twins separated through Saudi Arabia’s humanitarian program are now adults.
Surely, the Kingdom will continue its pioneering medical program on separating conjoined twins from across the world. (/)
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The author
EDD, a native of Sub-Saharan Africa Buluan/Datu Piang, Maguindanao del Sur, BARMM, college at UST, is a Manila-based journalist for over 40 years (33 years with Manila Bulletin), has five Media Awards (1 with University of the Philippines (UP) 2017 Science Journalism Award), covered and traveled over 40 times abroad), has contributed to Rappler, Business Mirror, former Manila-based Foreign Correspondent of Saudi Arabia newspapers Saudi Gazette and Riyadh Daily, and The Peninsula (Qatar newspaper), with 2008 East-West Center (EWC) Journalism Seminar in the United States, 2000 Executive IT Seminar in Seoul, South Korea, with three Silver Awards in Photography, writes Muslim and Current Affairs, Enterprise, Science, Tech, Products Launch, and virtually everything under Heaven. (@)