Rs650m collected for Karachi’s Shaukat Khanum cancer hospital

LAHORE: A global virtual fundraiser, held at Bani Gala over the past weekend, collected Rs650 million for the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (SKMCH&RC), Karachi.

The virtual fundraiser was held to support the construction of country’s third and largest Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital in Karachi. The event was attended by a number of celebrities, and the founder of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust, Imran Khan, was present as the special guest on the occasion.

Thousands of Pakistanis from across the world participated in the event which was streamed live on the official social media platforms of the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust and was also aired live from Bani Gala on ARY Digital.

Pakistanis residing in overseas, especially in the USA, UK, Middle East, Canada, Europe and Australia showed their solidarity by pledging generous support for SKMCH&RC, Karachi. Imran Khan said on the occasion the generosity of the people of Pakistan had never let him down and he had full confidence that just like Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospitals in Lahore and Peshawar, the third one in Karachi would also receive overwhelming support from the people of Pakistan.

The programme was hosted by Fakhar-e-Alam and attended by famous singers Atif Aslam and Shehzad Roy, film actress Mahira Khan and former cricketer Rameez Raja also appealed to their fans to contribute towards the noble mission of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust (SKMT).

He explained that the new hospital would not only serve cancer patients in Sindh but also bring cancer care closer to patients of southern Balochistan. Construction work is under way at full pace and the project is expected to be commissioned in less than three years, at a total cost of Rs13 billion.