Business Desk :
In a recent visit to icddr,b Hospital, Muhammed Aziz Khan, Chairman of Summit Group, accompanied by his wife Anjuman Aziz Khan and daughter Azeeza Aziz Khan ACCA, both Directors of Summit Group were overwhelmed by witnessing first-hand the high number of patients being attended with life-saving care. Dr Tahmeed Ahmed, Executive Director of icddr,b explained that currently icddr,b Hospitals are providing treatment to a historical record-high number of patients since its inception in the 1960s free-of-charge. He also explained the importance of making two icddr,b run hospitals sustainable considering the ongoing global financial turmoil, which could have a toll on icddr,b’s funding.
In response, Muhammed Aziz Khan generously pledged to donate USD 0.5 million from Summit Corporation and personally, along with his wife a matching funds from the Anjuman and Aziz Charitable Trust, a total of USD 1 Million to icddr,b Hospital endowment fund, making it the largest private donation pledge ever to icddr,b from a Bangladeshi. Muhammed Aziz Khan remarked, “It is a privilege and honour for me and my family to be able to support the humanitarian works that icddr,b does. We are humbled to support its research which saved hundreds of millions of children. Dr Tahmeed Ahmed, Dr Firdausi Qadri and all, make Bangladesh proud. We support and celebrate Bangladesh’s independence by supporting one of the finest institutions of the world.”
Dr Ahmed appreciated and expressed his gratitude to Mr and Mrs Khan as well as Summit Corporation Limited (SCL) for their pledge. He said, “Mr Muhammed Aziz Khan and Mrs Anjuman Aziz Khan surprised us by pledging USD 1 million, which will considerably boost our strive to achieve our target.
