Al-Shifa Trust has announced to construct a state-of-the-art eye hospital in GilgitBaltistan and the provincial government has allotted prime land for the purpose.
According to details, the 20-kanal piece of land was situated on Karakorum Highway near Aga Khan Hospital, accessible to people from remote areas for treatment.
While briefing a board meeting of Al-Shifa Trust, President of the Trust Maj. Gen. (retired) Rehmat Khan said that the GB government had issued the allotment letter during his recent visit to the area.
The site allocated for the eye hospital is just three kilometres away from the city, and the hospital will be able to treat 150 OPD patients per day and conduct 50 surgeries daily, he informed.
Rehmat Khan said that the hospital will be constructed with the help of the Rupani Foundation Pakistan, which has been reaching out to vulnerable populations for the last 16 years.
This hospital will be the first state-of-the-art hospital in the area, which will cost around 220 million rupees, and the Rupani Foundation will bear half of its cost while the trust will arrange the remaining cost through donations, he informed.
The trust’s president said the hospital’s groundbreaking ceremony will be held in March 2024, and the grey structure will be completed by July 2025.
He noted that people of GB are badly affected by eye diseases, and a large number are facing blindness due to cataracts; therefore, it was necessary to provide them with a facility at their doorstep.
