Daily Times

In continuation of their longstanding partnership which recently included spreading awareness of the dangers of Breast Cancer this past October, Hascol Petroleum Limited (“Hascol”), one of Pakistan’s leading Oil Marketing Companies, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust to help raise funds for the establishment of a world class cancer hospital at Karachi.

Under the MoU, Hascol will help get the word out for SKMT to raise funds for their upcoming Cancer Hospital in Karachi by placing advertising messages of SKMT’s “Lay a Brick of Hope” campaign through Hascol’s widespread network of retail outlets across Pakistan including at some of the best fuel retail outlets in the country. Hascol has over 630 retail outlets across Pakistan.

Donors can very easily donate money from their mobiles simply by sending a text message to 7770, which will send Rs. 20 to SKMT.

At the MoU signing, Hascol’s CEO, Aqeel Ahmed Khan, said “Hascol is proud to play its role in this very noble cause of helping to establish a world class cancer hospital in Karachi. Karachi is Pakistan’s most populous city and it needs the facilities of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital badly here. We encourage all Pakistanis to give generously to see this dream project come to light at the earliest.”

Hascol & SKMT’s partnership goes back many years and Hascol has generously supported SKMT in the past with significant donations. Earlier this year Hascol also partnered with Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital (SKMCH), the leading cancer hospital and research facility in Pakistan to observe October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, also known as #PinkTober. As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility program, Hascol has chosen to address this dreaded disease in Pakistan, and organized a webinar in conjunction with SKMCH. Hascol’s employees their relatives and others attended the early detection session in person and online.

Pakistan has one of the highest fatality rates from Breast Cancer. This is despite the fact that globally breast cancer is one of the easiest types of cancer to treat, if detected early enough. The reason Pakistan’s fatality rate from breast cancer is much higher than other countries is that detection is usually done significantly later in our country than elsewhere. This is because of a lack of awareness about this disease across our country.