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Ismaili Imamat donates medical equipment to University Hospital in Lisbon 2019-11-08

Date: 
Friday, 2019, November 8
Location: 
Source: 
AKU
Mawlana Hazar Imam and President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa inaugurate the Ismaili Imamat’s donation of a Da Vinci surgical system

On 8 November, 2019 His Highness the Aga Khan was joined by His Excellency, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, President of the Portuguese Republic for the inauguration of the Ismaili Imamat’s donation of a surgical robot system to one of Portugal’s largest medical universities, the Centro Hospitalar Universitario de Lisboa Central. The Minister of Health, Madame Marta Temido, government officials, diplomats, and leaders of the Aga Khan Development Network and the Ismaili Imamat were also in attendance.

The Da Vinci surgical equipment introduces cutting-edge, robotics-associated technology for performing advanced operations on patients and is the first such robot to be installed in a public hospital in Portugal. It expands surgeons’ capabilities by enabling them to perform minimally invasive surgical procedures with precision and accuracy.

In his remarks, AKU President Firoz Rasul stressed that the technology “will expand access to high-quality surgical care for Portuguese suffering from a wide range of conditions, helping to ensure that they can lead healthy lives”. He added that the donation was “further evidence of the strengthening bond between the Ismaili Imamat and the Portuguese Republic, and their joint commitment to improving quality of life in Portugal, in Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa, and beyond”.

In 2018, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Aga Khan University and the Portuguese Ministry of Health to establish close collaboration on medical innovation, training and research, data analysis, knowledge sharing and emergency care. Our growing relationship also encompasses capacity building by AKU of Portuguese doctors and nurses using state-of-the-art simulation and virtual reality tools. In addition, Portuguese doctors are supporting AKU to commence liver transplant surgeries at our hospitals in Karachi and Nairobi. Earlier this year, AKU organised an important symposium in partnership with Nova University Lisbon on “Stem Cell Science, Regenerative Medicine, Ethics and Society”.

Through our international partnerships such as with the Portuguese Ministry of Health, and with the ongoing support of our generous donors, AKU and other AKDN institutions positively impact millions of people in the developed and developing world.

We sincerely thank you for your continued generosity.

(You can view the video from the donation ceremony of the Da Vinci surgical system here)

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=26&v=vOA00Bx4ZJA


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