AKUH's Patient Welfare Programme

In Aid of the Needy

Fifty-year-old Farida, a widow and the mother of five, led a hand-to-mouth existence with a monthly income averaging Rs.8,000 (US$ 133) brought home by two plumber sons.

For a long time, Farida had not shared with her children the bouts of uneasiness that continued to push her to the point of emaciation. Often, the pain would reach excruciating levels, but she had resolved not to add to her children's worries. However, her endurance gave way to tears and visible discomfort that could not escape the attention of her children.

One day, she had to be rushed to see a doctor in her 'katchi abadi' (shanty town), who recommended that Farida should visit a hospital for a thorough check-up. She was finally brought to Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) in Karachi, where doctors diagnosed her with cancer of the cheek and advised mandibulectomy and neck dissection surgery. This verdict by the doctor threw the children into a state of total helpless desperation. On the one hand, it was their ailing mother, and on the other, the mounting financial worries. Farida was immediately admitted in AKUH, where the financial counsellor assured the family that the Hospital's Patient Welfare Programme would first assess their case and then provide the necessary support.

The cost of hospitalisation and surgery amounted to Rs.234,066 (US$ 3,900). Farida's children were able to generate Rs.38,000 (US $634) through family and friends. To their great relief, the Patient Welfare programme assisted with Rs.70,220 (US $1,170), and another Rs.125,000 (US $2,084) was provided by the Patients ' Behbud (welfare) Society for AKUH, which receives zakat contributions for the support of needy and deserving patients.

This is just one of the many stories that illustrate how the University has been providing high quality care to poor and deserving patients since its inception in 1986. The Hospital's Patient Welfare Programme has disbursed over Rs.1.22 billion (US $28.21 million), benefiting 225,000 patients. AKUH stands firm in its principle of providing quality care and treatment to all patients, including those who are financially challenged.