KARACHI, April 18: Abida Parveen, well-known singer, captivated a gathering of around 800 guests at a musical programme organized by the Faculty and Staff Resource Development Committee at the Aga Khan University on Saturday.

The objective of the programme was to enhance the pool of funds available to assist the poor patients in meeting the cost of their treatment. Speaking on the occasion, AKU president Shamsh Kassim-Lakha expressed his gratitude to friends and well-wishers of the university, whose contributions, he said, would go a long way in assisting the financially challenged patients.

He said with increasing numbers of patients as well as the rising costs of high quality medical care, supported by state-of- the-art diagnostic equipment, there was an ever-increasing demand for financial assistance.

Highlighting the objectives of the Patient Welfare Programme, AKU's paediatrics department head Dr Gaffar Billoo said, "The hospital is not just for the rich, but also for the lower socio-economic groups of society, which is evident from the increasing numbers of patients seeking care from its departments."

Dr Billoo said that annual expenditure incurred by the hospital on patients welfare had increased from Rs3.5 million in 1986 to more than Rs180 million in 2003. However, he said that more funds were needed to alleviate sufferings of the poor patients. - APP