In a heartfelt gathering on September 30, the leadership and healthcare professionals of the Aga Khan University (AKU) celebrated the generosity of Roche Pakistan, which has been instrumental in providing access to cancer care at AKU’s Hospital in Karachi.
This partnership, initiated in 2018, aims to eliminate financial barriers that prevent patients from receiving essential treatments.
Roche Pakistan, through its access program, has supplied vital medicines to patients at the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH), easing the financial burden on families and restoring hope and dignity to those battling cancer. Over the course of their six-year collaboration, more than 1,500 cancer patients have benefited from this initiative, reflecting a shared commitment to making high-quality, life-saving treatments accessible to those in need.
“The fight against cancer in Pakistan is one that is far bigger than any single institution. It’s one that demands that people and institutions across the country join hands and work together. And that is precisely what Roche and AKU are doing,” said Dr. Sulaiman Shahabuddin, President of AKU, during the appreciation event.
The Aga Khan University Hospital’s Patient Welfare Programme plays a crucial role in this mission, uniting individual and corporate donors like Roche to support patients from low-income backgrounds facing complex diseases such as cancer. Since its inception in 1986, the welfare program has disbursed nearly 35 billion rupees, assisting millions of individuals across Pakistan in accessing quality healthcare services at AKUH.
Ms. Hafsa Shamsie, Managing Director of Roche Pakistan, praised the collaboration, describing it as a “utopian ideal partnership.” She emphasized that while Roche provides standard-of-care medication, AKU serves as a Centre of Excellence in healthcare.
“The in-kind support from Roche, Pakistan not only provides vital medicines but also instills hope in our patients during some of their darkest times,” said Ms. Zahra Somani, Chief Advancement Officer at AKU. She expressed optimism about continuing their partnership to further expand access to quality cancer care for the people of Pakistan.