LAHORE: Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre (SKMCHRC) has launched its annual Zakat Collection campaign on Friday. The hospital management arranged a press briefing to describe the targets of this campaign and the progress of the hospital during the 2017. At the press briefing, SKMCHRC Chief Operating Officer Dr Faisal Sultan told media that “since its inception, this hospital is providing free cancer treatment facilities to almost 75 percent to 80 percent of patients and this requires a huge budget as treatment of cancer is very expensive”. The hospital has already spent over Rs 33 billion on free treatment of deserving cancer patients during the last 23 years. Talking about the targets of the Zakat Campaign, Dr Faisal Sultan said that the hospital’s annual budget for the year 2018 is Rs 11 billion; about half of this to be met from public donations and zakat and the remaining half, from revenue generated from hospital services. The total amount of zakat collected will be spent on the free treatment of deserving cancer patients as usual. “A new endoscopy unit was inaugurated earlier this year after which the capacity of our endoscopy unit almost doubled,” he said. Responding to a question about patients’ selection criteria, Dr Sultan said, “The increasing burden of cancer in our country, coupled with an acute shortage of specialised cancer hospitals in the country are capacity constraints, means that we are forced to priorities acceptance of cancer patients, targeting those most likely to benefit from treatment.” To cater this increasing burden, SKMCHRC Peshawar was built which has now completed its two years of public service and dealing with a double number of patients as compared to previous year. Out of all these patients, 60 percent are receiving chemotherapy treatment. “On the other hand, the construction of the new SKMCHRC in Karachi will Insha Allah, commence this summer. The new facility will enhance the country’s over-all capacity to treat cancer by offering all diagnostic and therapeutic cancer facilities under one roof,” he said. He said that SKMCHRC Lahore is delighted to announce that it has earned Joint Commission International’s Gold Seal of Approval for Hospital Accreditation by demonstrating continuous compliance with its internationally-recognised standards. The Gold Seal of Approval is a symbol of quality that reflects an organisation’s commitment to providing safe and effective patient care. Dr Sultan said, “We have made giving of Zakat and donations very easy for everyone. For this, the hospital has already activated its accounts in local and foreign banks. In addition to this, the donors can also deposit their zakat and donations directly in SKMCHRC, its regional offices, diagnostic centres, collection centres, all Pakistan post offices and easy paisa shops, UPaisa Shop, UBL Omni Dukan or NADRA e-Sahulat nationwide. The donors can also donate online at www.shaukatkhanum.org.pk and call at 0800 11555 for the collection of their zakat cheques directly from their doorstep.” He further added that SKMT has its functional offices in Dubai, USA, UK, Canada, Australia and Norway. These offices are also receiving zakat and donations over there. The management of SKMCHRC hopes that the people of Pakistan will donate more and support this noble cause this year as well. Published in Daily Times, May 5th 2018.