Shifa celebrates silver jubilee by planting saplings

Islamabad : Taking advantage of the plantation season, Shifa International Hospital (SIH) organised a tree plantation ceremony here Saturday to accelerate the #TreesForLife campaign, which also coincides with the hospital’s silver jubilee celebrations.

Member Environment and Executive Director General of the Capital Development Authority’s Training Academy Sanaullah Aman inaugurated the campaign by planting a sapling at SIH with a pledge for a greener Pakistan. "I take great pride in giving back to the community, and offer CDA’s support to Shifa International,” he said at the event.

A large number of staff members, managers, and medical students participated in the ceremony, pledging to plant more trees in the surrounding areas to protect the environment. They also agreed to promote the culture of environment friendliness through recycling and using biodegradable materials in daily life.

Sanaullah appreciated SIH for spearheading public awareness activities. He highlighted the salient features of CDA’s plantation campaign of CDA and reiterated the commitment to make Islamabad green. Sanaullah invited SIH to join CDA by playing an active role in plantation.

The Chief Executive Officer of SIH Dr. Manzoor H. Qazi said, Shifa is the first hospital to have provided all services under one roof including diagnostic, therapeutic, surgical, nutrition needs, physical therapy and patient education. “We were also the first one to recognize importance of paramedical and support staff,” he added and specially thanked the media for advocating healthcare prevention and awareness as a national cause. “Plants are a symbol of good health, and to promote the importance of plants, we chose to celebrate Shifa’s silver jubilee with tree plantation,” he said.

The Chairman of SIH Dr. Habib-ur-Rehman said Shifa continuously runs educational and training programmes for capacity building of medical, paramedical and technical staff. The hospital has also established systems and monitoring mechanisms to ensure patient safety. Later, Dr. Qazi presented a special souvenir to Sanaullah Aman.