KARACHI: Pakistan State Oil (PSX: PSO), the largest oil marketing company of the country, has donated Rs20 million to The Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) for treatment of at least 40 children from a humble background, who are born with Congenital Heart Disease (CHD).
The announcement came during an official signing ceremony held at the university hospital premises in Karachi.
Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) is a birth defect in the structure of the heart. Over 60,000 children are born each year with this life-threatening condition in Pakistan.
The donations by PSO CSR Trust have been made through the Patients Behbud Society (PBS) for AKUH, a charitable society responsible for collecting and disbursing zakat, in order to help deserving patients receive high-quality medical treatment at AKUH, its clinics and medical centres.
PSO MD and CEO Sheikh Imranul Haque presented the cheque of support on behalf of the PSO CSR Trust to AKUH PBS Chairman Nadeem Mustafa Khan. PSO Corporate Communications Deputy General Manager Imran Rana signed and exchanged the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Nadeem Mustafa Khan.
AKUH Pakistan CEO Hans Kedzierski, Trustee from PSO CSR Trust Babar H Chaudhry and other senior officials from both sides were also present to witness the ceremony.
Speaking at the ceremony, Sheikh Imranul Haque said, “This is unfortunate that 50,000 to 60,000 children are born with congenital heart diseases (CHD) every year in Pakistan out of which many die in neonatal life due to lack of proper medical treatment. We at PSO believe that children are the future of the nation. It is, therefore, our social responsibility to help provide quality healthcare facilities to them regardless of their background.”
Nadeem Mustafa Khan appreciated PSO`s support and said, “AKUH is a transparent hospital and the money which we will use on the needy patients we report back to the donors as the standard procedure.”
