ASIA/PAKISTAN - Pakistan's first palliative care center for terminally ill patients opens in a Catholic hospital

Hyderabad (Agenzia Fides) – The new day center for palliative care at St. Elizabeth Catholic Hospital in Hyderabad, in Pakistan's southern Sindh province, aims to provide cancer patients and the terminally ill in Pakistan with a place to receive care, pain relief, and comfort. It is the first facility of its kind in Pakistan. The initiative has been the appreciation of religious and civil authorities. The Apostolic Nuncio to Pakistan, Archbishop Germano Penemote, and the President of the Pakistani Bishops' Conference, Bishop Samson Shukardin of Hyderabad, participated in the center's inauguration and blessing ceremony on January 12. Among the numerous dignitaries present were Anthony Naveed, the Christian Vice President of the Sindh Provincial Assembly, and Zoltán Varga, the Hungarian Ambassador to Pakistan. The initiative was made possible thanks to the support of the Hungarian government and several benefactors in Australia and the United Kingdom. “This is an initiative aimed at strengthening the healthcare services that are inextricably linked to the spirit of compassion in our hospital,” Father Robert McCulloch, an Australian missionary of the Society of St. Columban and a member of the hospital’s board of directors, told Fides. “This Center represents a fundamental turning point in healthcare in Pakistan. It is dedicated to cancer patients. Cancer treatment is too expensive for the people of Pakistan. The Catholic Church in Pakistan is directly addressing this need through St. Elizabeth Hospital. Care at this palliative care day center is free of charge, just like our home-based palliative care service.” “The center,” he explains, “will provide compassionate care through a treatment plan and personalized support to restore dignity to cancer patients, in keeping with the traditional commitment of Christian healthcare institutions in Pakistan.” “Of course,” Father McCulloch emphasizes, “patients of all cultures, ethnicities, and religions will be welcome, and this service will therefore also have a positive impact on promoting interfaith harmony in the region.”
The priest expresses his particular gratitude to Eric Siraj, the administrator of St. Elizabeth Hospital, and his team “for their tireless efforts to bring this project to fruition for the benefit of the Pakistani people.”
In recent years, St. Elizabeth Hospital piloted a pioneering home-based palliative care service for cancer patients, which was met with a tremendous response from the population in the Hyderabad region. These patients are often confined to their homes and spend the final stage of their lives in pain and suffering. The healthcare system in Pakistan does not provide specialized treatments or services for them; there is no service to alleviate their suffering, and families must bear the high costs of pain relief. Given the success of the home care service and the increasing need, it was decided to plan the construction of a day clinic within the hospital. Funding for the facility and equipment was made possible through support from the "Hungary Helps" program, a Hungarian government initiative that supports over 450 development and aid projects for disadvantaged communities in more than 60 countries worldwide. The Catholic Hospital, named after Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, opened in Hyderabad in 1958 and has been serving the region ever since, providing professional healthcare and operating a training center for healthcare professionals. (PA) (Agenzia Fides, 15/1/2026)

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