LAHORE: Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centres (SKMCH&RC) has launched their Zakat collection campaign for 2022.
Acting CEO, Dr Muhammed Aasim Yusuf said, “We treat Zakat as a sacred trust and have always taken all possible steps, to ensure that utilisation of Zakat complies with Islamic injunctions regarding utilisation for Zakat-eligible patients. Zakat funds are used for the medical treatment of deserving patients, and not for other expenses such as construction. SKMCH&RC has independent certification confirming that its Zakat processes are Shariah-compliant.”
Dr Aasim also gave an overview of the impact of charity over the last year, highlighting, “In 2021, we treated approximately 40,000 patients at our facilities and the generous support of our donors enabled us to provide financially supported treatment worth Rs9.7 billion to over 75 percent of our cancer patients. The proportion of Zakat collections in this was approximately Rs5.1 billion, which reaffirms that Zakat funds are completely exhausted on providing direct patient care within the same year they are collected.”
Dr Yusuf said, “For the year 2022, we have a budget of Rs28 billion, which will help us not only to treat an ever-increasing number of cancer patients for free, at our facilities in Lahore, Peshawar, and Karachi; but also to continue the construction of our third, and Pakistan’s largest, cancer hospital in Karachi, where comprehensive cancer care will be available for all, under one roof. As in past years, we expect about half of this goal to be met through your generous Zakat and donations.”
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022