Page 224 - Muzaffargarh Gazzetteer

Muzaffargarh. It was hoped that the Society would take away at least few of
the worries of such hapless patients by ensuring them concessional and on-
time dialysis. This was the minimum the District Administration as well as
the District Health Authority could do for the patients who already had to
live under miserable conditions and remain uncertain as to their future.

The over-all scope of work of the Society was decided as under:
1. The data bank of all patients requiring dialysis in Muzaffargarh would
be developed and maintained in soft as well as hard forms.
2. A tentative budget for the entire year would be worked out/estimated
on the basis of data so collected.
3. The resources/funds of all relevant departments such as the District
Health Authority, District Zakat Office, Social Welfare Department,
and Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal would be pooled up to do the planning well
in advance. Any shortfall would be overcome by the donations from
philanthropic individuals/organizations.
4. The affordability of every individual patient would be judged through
a proper mechanism whereby his/her credentials and financial worth
would be ascertained, on ground, by the local revenue staff working
under the overall supervision of the concerned Assistant
Commissioner. The extent of concession/subsidy would be decided
accordingly. This measure alone would ensure that the funds are
spent where they are needed the most. In other words, only truly
deserving patients would get free or concessional treatment, which
would make the entire exercise sustainable.
5. The Society would network with all other organisations working on
the same and/or similar agenda in the country so that assistance and
cooperation could be sought from them as and when required. Even
patients could be also referred to them, if needed.
6. The Society would also get continuous research conducted into the
prevalence of renal diseases in Muzaffargarh so that the root causes
could also be identified and addressed. Even otherwise too, as they
say, prevention is better than cure.

In order to ensure secure funding for the Society, Managing Director,
Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal was reached out by the District Administration. The
Managing Director, on his part, visited Muzaffargarh on September 28, 2019
as a goodwill gesture to acknowledge and encourage the initiative, and
announced that thenceforth expenses of at least 50 patients would be borne
by the Bait-ul-Mal on permanent basis. The Muzaffargarh Dialysis Society
was formally launched on October 5, 2019 in the DHQ.

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