With the approach of the holy month of Ramadan, I look to you, once again, to continue your generous support for the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre (SKMCH&RC), in Lahore.
After over fifteen years of providing financially supported treatment to over 75% of the cancer patients seen at the Hospital, SKMCH&RC has today become one of the greatest stories of the success of the collective will of the people of our nation.
The Hospital stands out as an example of some of the greatest positives of our society - the generosity of our people and their desire to help those less fortunate than themselves. The idea of a cancer hospital providing free care to the majority of its patients was dismissed out of hand by many experts when I first suggested it.
Today, the work of the Hospital is known the world over, and has been recognised by the World Health Organisation for 'outstanding work in health development that has extended far beyond the call of normal duties'. The miracle of SKMCH&RC lies not just in its creation but in the fact that it has continued to provide free treatment facilities for over fifteen years to over 75% of cancer patients seen. This has been made possible only because of your support and your belief in the value of life.
In Lahore, Pakistan's first PET CT scanner was installed at the main Hospital late last year and is now being utilised optimally. The construction of the Inpatient Extension is in progress. This expansion will eventually double our current inpatient capacity and enable us to accept more patients for treatment.
We stand, today, at a critical juncture in our ongoing efforts against cancer. We are about to embark upon two huge new projects to extend our services to more and more suffering cancer patients in Pakistan. In Peshawar, recognising the credibility of our brand, the provincial Government has donated land for the construction of a complete Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital in Peshawar, for the people of the Khyber Pukhtunkhwa province. Planning is currently under way and construction is expected to start at the end of the year.
In Karachi, after the opening of the Collection Centre, Laboratory and Walk in Clinic, the Diagnostic & Treatment Centre in Karachi was inaugurated earlier this year. A chemotherapy delivery facility at the Diagnostic & Treatment Centre is expected to start functioning by October this year while the final planning for the full fledged Hospital, for which the land has already been acquired, continues.
These are Herculean tasks, but I am sustained in this work by my absolute belief in the generosity of the Pakistani people, the tremendous spirit of our nation and my own firm belief in God. In order to embark upon these major expansion projects across Pakistan, we need your support now more than ever. While the revenue from the Hospital's diagnostic services has always, and continues to be, utilised for our expansion projects, it is your Zakat that is the hope of life for our poor cancer patients. This year, we need over Rs 1 billion Zakat to help keep this hope alive. We hope you will once again open your heart for those who are less fortunate than yourself and contribute generously.
With best wishes and my warmest personal regards.
Imran Khan Chairman Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust.
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