Rs 3.5 crore have been secured through a fundraising initiative to bolster the campaign against curable blindness across Pakistan, a challenge complicated by rising costs and a lack of medical facilities.
The funds were collected at a gala held at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts on Tuesday, organized by the Al-Shifa Trust. The event, which included cultural and Sufi music performances, was attended by a large number of philanthropists, members of civil society, and delegates from corporate organizations. A notable outcome of the event was that many attendees pledged to donate their eyes after death.
President of Al-Shifa Trust, Major General (R) Rehmat Khan, thanked individual and corporate donors, stating that continued charitable support is crucial for tackling the issue of preventable vision loss in the country.
He highlighted the organization’s growth over three decades, from serving 25 patients daily to its current capacity of approximately 5,000. The trust operates on a cross-subsidy model, enabling it to provide free treatment to nearly 80 percent of its patients at hospitals located in Rawalpindi, Chakwal, Kohat, Sukkur, Muzaffarabad, and Gilgit.
The newly acquired capital will be used to expand surgical and subsidized treatments, particularly in rural areas.
Future developments for the trust include the Lahore Eye Hospital, which is expected to be operational by 2027. In the near future, a new hospital built at a cost of Rs 162 million in Haveli Lakha is set for inauguration in Ramadan.