Claim: Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (SKMCH & RC) is not being allowed to raise funds. It is unable to treat patients because the Pakistani authorities have frozen its bank accounts.
Fact: SKMCH & RC is not facing disruptions in raising funds. Dr Faisal Sultan, CEO of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, has confirmed that the institution’s bank accounts are functional.
On 25 February 2024, a social media user shared a post on X claiming that the Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital and Research Center is unable to treat cancer patients because Pakistani Authorities have frozen their accounts.
On 6 March 2024, Soch Fact Check also received a WhatsApp message labelled, “Forwarded many times” with the following text:
[Translation: The government is not allowing Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital to continue fundraising, which is why the hospital is facing an extreme shortage of funds and it is becoming very difficult to continue treating the patients currently under their care. All Pakistanis are requested to message 7770 to donate 20 rupees. The hospital needs us all. You can send this message multiple times to donate more funds. Forward this message and help others participate in the food work as well. May Allah reward you with goodness]
Fact or Fiction?
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) media strategist, Imran Ghazali, sent the tweet in the claim to Soch Fact Check with a clarification and a request to fact-check it. “As per SKMCH it is totally fake news. Can we get it fact checked,” he said.
A member of Soch Fact Check’s team then made a transaction on 28 February 2024, which went through successfully, proving that SKMCH’s bank accounts are not frozen and are currently receiving funds.
Furthermore, Soch Fact Check spoke to Dr Faisal Sultan, the CEO of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre. Sultan confirmed to us that the news is untrue and that all of SKMCH’s bank accounts continue to be functional.
He also directed us towards this post on X published by Shaukat Khanum’s official X account, which clarifies that recent social media posts claiming that SKMCH’s bank accounts have been frozen are false and that the institution is continuing to raise funds for its patients without any disruptions.
Virality
The forwarded message on WhatsApp was labelled, “Forwarded many times”, which means that it was shared through a chain of five or more chats.
On X, the post received more than 4,800 views.
On Facebook, we found that the claim was shared here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
Conclusion: Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre’s bank accounts have not been frozen, and the institution is not facing a disruption in raising funds.
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Background image in cover photo: SKMCH website
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