Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centres have launched their Zakat campaign for 2022. On this occasion, Acting CEO, Dr Muhammed Aasim Yusuf said, “We treat Zakat as a sacred trust, and have always taken all possible steps to ensure that the 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 Muhammed Aasim Yusuf 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 Rs. 9.7 billion to over 75 percent of our cancer patients. The proportion of Zakat collections in this was approximately Rs. 5.1 billion, which reaffirms that Zakat funds are completely exhausted on providing direct patient care within the same year they are collected.
Dr Yusuf further added, “For the year 2022, we have a budget of Rs. 28 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. Ramzan is the month of giving and in this month, I would like to urge everyone to open their hearts and donate generously to support our mission of providing equitable access to quality healthcare to thousands of cancer patients from around the country and beyond.”
