BEIJING, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- China provided free medical treatment for 74 children from Afghanistan and Mongolia who were suffering from congenital heart diseases in 2017, the Chinese Red Cross Foundation said in its annual work report.

The travel and medical costs of the patients, including 21 from Afghanistan, were covered by the Belt and Road Fraternity Fund, which was set up in February this year by the foundation in Beijing.

The fund has sponsored a series of humanitarian aid programs and dispatched nine groups of people to provide humanitarian services in Pakistan, Syria and other countries along the Belt and Road.