India, in South Asia, is a country with diverse terrain from mountains to ocean coastline.
It has a population of 1.3 billion people and an average life expectancy of 67 for men and 70 for women.
Many children suffer from malnutrition and problems associated with poor air quality.
The most common causes of premature death are; heart disease, lower respiratory infections, diarrheal diseases, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) progressive lung disease and cerebrovascular disease (a variety of medical conditions that affect the blood vessels of the brain).
Alder Hey heart specialist, Ram Dhannapuneni, has been leading cardiac teams through the charity Healing Little Hearts, performing surgery at health centres in rural areas of India for more than a decade. These teams have saved the lives of hundreds of children for whom surgery wouldn’t otherwise be an option.