Abbasi Shaheed opens first haemophilia ward for women

The country's first dedicated hemophilia ward for women was inaugurated at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital in Karachi on Saturday. The six-bed ward will be staffed entirely by female medical personnel. Mayor Murtaza Wahab and Deputy Mayor Salman Abdullah Murad inaugurated the facility, established specifically for women suffering from hemophilia.

Speaking at the event, Mayor Wahab noted that hemophilia treatment often costs patients hundreds of thousands of rupees. To address this, free treatment services were launched at KMC hospitals six months ago under a public-private partnership. A male ward had already been set up four months earlier, and now female patients - including those from Larkana and other cities - would also benefit from specialised care. He further announced plans to launch free diagnostic tests and a gynaecology ward at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital in the near future.

The mayor emphasised the urgent need for legislation on hemophilia testing and called for widespread awareness campaigns about the disease. Referring to doctors as "angels," he asserted that protests, banners, and slogans could not be permitted inside hospitals. "Those unwilling to work will have to leave," he warned.

Wahab also criticised certain groups for spreading daily lies in the name of hypocrisy, saying such actions would now be addressed and countered.

On civic matters, the mayor said that decisions regarding the removal of encroachments were made in consensus with Jamaat-e-Islami and MQM. However, he acknowledged that court orders sometimes delayed action. He admitted that dug-up roads left unattended before the monsoon had caused problems for residents but assured that repair work was now in progress.