As part of a concerted effort to strengthen the delivery of health services in Sindh, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has donated 85 dialysis machines to the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT).
The life-saving equipment was inaugurated at a ceremony organised on Thursday by the hospital medical team, UNHCR, and representatives of the government of Pakistan.
The project was funded by the European Union (EU), which aimed to enhance the capacity of the SIUT Renal Unit to carry out more dialysis sessions and ease pressure on public services.
The dedicated medical team at SIUT carries out approximately 1,500 dialysis sessions daily. The medical services are free of charge for all patients regardless of their nationalities and legal status.
The equipment, which also includes six reverse osmosis treatment systems for the dialysis machines, along with six automated dialyzer reprocessing systems, will benefit the refugees and nationals of the country.
Besides the 85 dialysis machines for SIUT, the European Union has also funded critical equipment for various public hospitals in Pakistan, including a Thalassemia Unit, a Gastroenterology Unit as well as state-of-the-art CT scanners in areas hosting refugees.
The contribution illustrates the commitment of the EU to supporting refugees and host communities through a three-year funded programme covering Afghanistan, Central Asia, Iran and Pakistan, which focuses on strengthening health, education, livelihoods, and protection activities.
The contribution builds on EU development support for Afghans and hosts communities in Pakistan since 2018.
Present at the inauguration ceremony, UNHCR Representative in Pakistan Noriko Yoshida said, "Our support to the people of Pakistan is a gesture of solidarity and gratitude for the decades of hospitality extended by the government and people of Pakistan for Afghan refugees".
"It's important that after 40 years of hosting refugees, Pakistani communities continue to see the international contribution towards local services and the people who have been generously hosting refugees all this time," he said.
While thanking the generous support of the EU and UNHCR, Dr Adib Rizvi said that since 1971, SIUT has been providing quality healthcare services to all patients absolutely for free and with dignity and compassion, irrespective of their nationality, caste, colour, gender and religious beliefs.
He added that this donation will further enable us to treat and manage, more effectively, the overwhelming kidney failure patient population.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 7th, 2022.
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