Islamabad, January 29, 2025. Responding to an invitation of the Bin Qutab Foundation and at the beginning of the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Cuban Ambassador Zéner Caro paid a working visit to the public health project of the Begun Noor Memorial Hospital, located in the rural area of Chakwal district, Punjab province.
During the tour of the hospital and Bin Qutab College of Medical Sciences facilities, the diplomat learned about the high quality and in-demand services offered by the country's only “A” category rural hospital, the courses offered for the training of local youth in medical specialties and the policy implemented at the center to serve any patient regardless of their financial resources.
Mr. Muhammad Bashir Malik, Chairman of the Bin Qutab Foundation, also gave a detailed explanation of the “door-to-door” early disease diagnosis program, the community health camps and the ambitious plan to perform two thousand free surgeries by 2025. He also spoke about the construction in the coming years of a ward for the care of patients with cranioencephalic trauma and two new higher education faculties.
For his part, the head of the Cuban diplomatic mission commented on the cooperation projects underway with the province of Punjab and suggested the possibility that Pakistani doctors who graduated in Cuba could share their experiences on the primary care system in his country and participate directly in the assistance programs of the Bin Qutab Foundation.
Begun Noor Memorial Hospital, founded in 2017, has a capacity of 70 beds for admissions, modern surgery and hemodialysis rooms; ophthalmology, dentistry and rehabilitation services; and its own laboratory and blood bank. Its location at the confluence of the rural districts of Chakwal, Jhelum and Gujar Khan enables it to provide healthcare coverage to a population of more than two million people.(EMBACUBA PAKISTAN)