The Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre has launched its Zakat collection campaign. The hospital equipped with the best available medical machinery is aimed at providing world class treatment to the cancer patients irrespective of their ability to pay. Its annual budget has reached Rs 1.6 billion.
The hospital generates 50% of the budget from its own resources while the remaining 50% comes from donations and Zakat, a spokesman of the hospital said here on Tuesday.
According to him, construction of 11-storey new clinical building has been planned and at initial stage, four stories would be completed. The new building would be fully equipped with most modern equipment, which would not only facilitate research work but also enhance indoors patient capacity to double.
He said that huge amount of Rs 4 billion has been spent on free treatment of deserving cancer patients in almost last 13 years. As such Shaukat Khanum is the only hospital of the world in the private sector, catering free treatment to overwhelming majority of cancer patients. For the collection of Zakat, the spokesman said that the hospital has activated its accounts in local and foreign banks facilitating donors.