SIUT gets donation of 85 dialysis machines from UNHCR

As part of a concerted effort to strengthen the delivery of health services in the Sindh province of Pakistan, the UN Refugee Agency, has donated 85 state-of-the-art dialysis machines to the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT) Karachi.

The project, funded by the European Union, is aimed at enhancing the capacity of the Renal Unit to carry out more dialysis sessions, and ease pressure on public services. On a daily basis, the dedicated medical team at the SIUT carries out approximately 1,500 dialysis sessions. Medical services are free of charge for all patients – regardless of their nationalities and legal status.

The equipment, which also includes six reverse osmosis treatment systems for the dialysis machines, along with six automated dialyzer reprocessing systems, will benefit both refugees and host communities and save lives. The life-saving equipment was inaugurated at a ceremony attended on Thursday by the hospital medical team, UNHCR, and representatives of the Government of Pakistan.

In addition to the 85 dialysis machines for the SIUT, the European Union has also funded critical equipment for various public hospitals in Pakistan, including for a thalassaemia unit, a gastroenterology unit and state-of-the-art CT scanners in areas hosting refugees.

The contribution illustrates the commitment of the EU to support refugees and host communities through a three-year funded programme covering Afghanistan, Central Asia, Iran and Pakistan, which focuses on strengthening health, education, livelihoods, and protection activities. The contribution has been building on EU development support for Afghans and host communities in Pakistan since 2018.

“Our support today to the people of Pakistan is a gesture of solidarity and gratitude for the decades of hospitality extended by the government and people of Pakistan for Afghan refugees,” noted Noriko Yoshida, UNHCR representative to Pakistan. “It’s important that after 40 years of hosting refugees, Pakistani communities continue to see the international contribution towards local services and the people who have been generously hosting refugees all this time.”

Thanking the generous support of the EU and the UNHCR, Prof Adib Rizvi recounted the services of the institution and said that since 1971, the SIUT has been providing quality healthcare services to all patients absolutely free and with dignity and compassion, irrespective of their nationality, caste, colour, gender and religious beliefs. He added that this donation will further enable us to treat and manage more effectively the overwhelming kidney failure patient population.