KARACHI: The state-owned oil marketing company, Pakistan State Oil (PSO), has donated Rs8.5 million to the Cancer Foundation to help poor cancer patients in the country.
The foundation is building a not-for-profit cancer hospital in Karachi. PSO is the country’s largest oil marketing company and has a significant Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme through which it supports the causes of education, healthcare, social development and sustainability.
This particular donation has been made for the purchase of laboratory equipment for the hospital, which is due to start operation in 2016. “This donation represents not just PSO’s commitment to social causes, but also that of the corporate sector as a whole,” said Maqsood Ansari, Chairman of The Cancer Foundation, in a statement.
The 100-bed Cancer Hospital by The Cancer Foundation is based on a not-for-profit model, where patients would only be charged for actual amounts spent on their treatment and not for overheads, equipment. Hence, the cost of treatment is envisaged to be significantly lower than in other hospitals, bringing cancer treatment within reach of many more people. The hospital is located in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, opposite Aziz Bhatti Park.
