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Country's largest cancer hospital opens

Ahsania cancer hospital unveils a success story of government, private sector and individuals' joint efforts

Staff Correspondent
Ahsania Mission Cancer and General Hospital began its official journey in the capital's Uttara yesterday after a decade long effort of Dhaka Ahsania Mission with much-needed support from the government,
private sector, and ordinary people at large.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina opened the 15-storey state-of-the art cancer hospital, the largest in the country, on the hospital com-
pound sprawling over 6.5 bighasofland.
The premier urged the hospital authorities to dedicate it to the services of the people.
"As the country's biggest cancer hospital built by the mission, it has created a huge opportunity for cancer treatment," she told the inaugural ceremony.
• 1 hope that you would always remain careful so that the common people, especially cancer patients, avail treatment easily and at a lower cost.'
Health Minister Mohammad Nasim and Social Welfare Minister Syed Mohsin Ali, among others, also spoke.
The hospital which will have 500 beds after completion of the project in 2016 will be run on a " no-profit-no-loss" basis and 30 percent of services will be provided free to poor patients.
The cost of treatment and services would be much lower than those at top hospitals in Bangladesh, said Kazi Rafiqul Alam, president of the mission.
The government is a major contributor to the construction of the hospital, making it a successful example of public-private partnership.
The social welfare ministry is the single largest donor to the Tk 360-crore project, with Tk 26.56 crore already delivered.
It will provide another Tk 13 crore in the coming days, according to officials of the ministry and the mission. The health ministry has so far given Tk 15 crore, says the mission.
As of February this year, individual and corporate donors accounted for Tk 26.31 crore and Tk 23.66 crore respectively.
Dutch-Bangla Bank has provided Tk 4 crore, and Pubali BankTk 10 crore.
At the opening ceremony, Dutch-Bangla Bank handed over a cheque for another Tk 15 crore and Al Arafah Islami Bank a cheque for Tk 10 lakh to the prime minister for the development of the hospital.
The Awami League government of 1996-2001, also led by Sheikh Hasina, allocated the land for the hospital.
Dhaka Ahsania Mission will require another Tk 80 crore to Tk 100 crore to complete the project. It has a funding commitment ofTk 88 crore in the pipeline.
The prime minister assured that all kinds of government assistance in the development activities of the hospital would continue as in the past.
Set up in 1958 by Khan Bahadur Ahsanullah, eminent educationist, reformer and spiritual leader, the mission is the top philanthropic organisation in Bangladesh.