ISLAMABAD: Leader of the House in Senate, Raja Muhammad Zafar ul Haq has said that masses should extend all sorts of support for strengthening philanthropist institutions enabling the society to provide health services to the poor and needy for free or on a reasonable cost.
He expressed these views while addressing the participants of an Iftar dinner organized by the Pakistan Kidney Institute (PKI) here on Sunday. Eminent journalists, writers, philanthropists and notables of the twin cities attended the gathering.
Addressing the occasion as chief guest, Senator Raja Zafar ul Haq said that the PKI’s contribution in health sector has inspired the nation to the extent that Chief Minister Punjab Mian Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has granted Rs.3 billion and a 50 acre piece of land in Lahore for establishing Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute by PKI that is going to be a world class centre of excellence for kidney and liver related health issues.
He added that the people of Pakistan donate billions of rupees every year for philanthropist causes and proper utilization of this amount can significantly help in eradication of poverty and disease. He appreciated the Dr. Saeed Akhtar for making a dream come true and said that such noble causes cannot be completed successfully without active participation of the masses.
Eminent Journalists Syed Talat Hussain, on this occasion, said that PKI has helped some 83000 kidney patients with free medical treatment that would otherwise cost billions of rupees.
Director PKI Dr. Saeed Akhtar thanked the government of the Punjab for its generous grant of land and money and said that the Centre of Excellence will promote research and treatment in the field of kidney and liver related issues but still we need support for furthering the cause in the remote areas of Pakistan.
It may be worth mentioning that being a part of the world stone-bed region, 35% of Pakistani patients suffer kidney related issues. Millions of rupees donations were pledged on the occasion including a five kanal piece of land in Swat district of Khyber Pukhtunkhwa while one donor pledged to donate Rs.5 million annually.
INP