Altaf Hamid Rao.
NGO Maa Foundation move to serve the ailing humanity with latest Diagnostic cover,
MIRPUR (AJK), (Parliament Times) : Azad Jammu Kashmir achieved a major breakthrough in the health care sector after a Britain-based NGO Maa Foundation-sponsored fully-equipped state of the art Aliya Begam Diagnostic Center- harmonious to the need of the modern age, was inaugurated here on Saturday.
The chief Guest AJK Health Minister Nisar Ansar Abdali inaugurated the Center, first of its own kind, established by an NGO in AJK to provide diagnostic facilities to the local patients of various cancer-like severe diseases which were not earlier available in any public or private-sector hospital in any part of the State.
Our Special AJK Correspondent Altaf Hamid Rao reports from Mirpur that seasoned medicos including Dr. Aamir Aziz, MS Mirpur Div. Head Quarter Hospital, Lady Dr. Fatima Yaqoob of the DHQ Hospital also addressed the ceremony – which was largely attended by the local medical fraternity. Prominent among those who graced the occasion included Sr. Medical Specialist of Mirpur DHQ Hospital Dr. Tariq Masood, President Pakistan Medical Association Dr. Ejaz Ahmed Raja, drug inspector Dr. Zaheer Ahmed, Dr. Jehangir Akber Jiraal, Dr. Javed Iqbal Jiraal, IRD officials Mr. Luqman Jiraal and Mr. Tariq Ayub, Azam Jiraal and Khadim Jiraal from State Revenue Department and others.
Highlighting the salient features of the grand project, the chief host Subtain Khan, a local British Kashmiri national and Chairman of the Maa Foundation said while addressing the inaugural ceremony that the idea of launching the world-class fully-equipped diagnostic center was conceived after the death of his mother Aliya Begam because of the breast cancer in the United Kingdom in 2020 – despite the all possible latest medical facilities in the Britain-like developed country. Khan underlined that he decided to name the grand diagnostic center after his late mother with prime focus to dispense the quick diagnostic facilities to the ailing humanity belonging to Mirpur division – who, he pointed, had earlier to move to Rawalpindi and Islamabad to get diagnose the patients of the diseases. “The prime focus of the center will be to diagnose the patients of the most dangerous disease of cancer under the top spirit of “Help to Cancel Cancer”, he added.
Speaking on this occasion, seasoned physician of the AJK State Health Services Department Dr. Fatima Yaqoob of Mirpur Divisional Teaching Hospital disclosed that over a million of patients of cancer die every year the world over. These include 18 percent of women who loose their lives because of the breast cancer, she underlined.
Dr. Fatima Yaqoob emphasized the need of raising awareness among the women about adopting due preventive measures to get rid of the deadly disease of breast cancer. The seasoned lady doctor revealed that only in Pakistan over 40 thousand women die of cancer – since latest reports speak of the death of a women because of breast cancer out of every 08 lady patients of the disease of cancer, she added. We shall have to act upon the basic advise of “Prevention is better than Cure” to skip of all kinds of diseases including the highly dangerous rising disease of cancer, the doctor strongly advises.
Speaking on this occasion, the chief guest – AJK health minister Dr. Ansar Abdali lauded NGO Maa Foundation United Kindom for launching the grand fully-equipped Aliya Begam Diagnostic Center, first of its own kind in AJK, under the high gesture of serving the ailing humanity of AJK in general and Mirpur division in particular on subsidized cost – particularly for poor and down trodden classes of the society – indeed, he hoped.
The health minister admitted that even the previous and sitting AJK governments could not establish such latest diagnostic departments in any State-run district or tehsil HQ hospital in any part of AJK during last 75 years – despite the sitting AJK government was determined to provide latest health facilities to the people close to their door step across AJK without any discrimination.
“The non-availability of the latest diagnostic center in any government-sector hospital in any part of AJK is a question mark for us”, the minister categorically said. He hoped that Aliya Begam Diagnostic center would, indeed, provide much better facilities to diagnose the patients of the diseases they would be suffering, for onward moving to the concerned medical and surgical specialists serving in private and public sectors, he added.
The minister revealed that State Health Policy is being announced in Azad Jammu Kashmir in the near future with prime focus for dispensation of quality health facilities to the masses across the liberated territory, he added.
