Do Whatever We Can with Whatever Little We Have
Neurology Research and Patient Welfare Fund (NRPWF) is an NGO founded by (late) Prof. Hasan Aziz and his team of doctors at the Department of Neurology, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), Karachi, Pakistan in 1989. The NGO is registered under Voluntary Social Welfare Agencies (Registration and Control) Ordinance 1961; Registration No: DSW-(360)-K dated 12.03.1989. All donations are tax-exempt under sub-clause (c) of clause 36 of section 2 of Income Tax Ordinance 2001 read with rules 212 and 220 of Income Tax Rules 2022. NRPWF is certified by Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy. An MOU has been signed between NRPWF & Economic Affairs Division, Government of Pakistan, allowing foreign transfer of donations. It is registered with the Sindh Charity Commission and holds Shariah Compliance Certification for just utilization of Zakat funds.
The main objective of the NGO at initiation was to provide optimal facilities to the poor patients visiting the Department of Neurology, JPMC for treatment of various acute and chronic neurological disorders and to encourage and support all departmental research activities. In the last two and half decades NRPWF has been primarily focusing on epilepsy-related activities.
Comprehensive Epilepsy Control Programme of Pakistan
The Comprehensive Epilepsy Control Programme of Pakistan (CECP) was initiated in March 2001 to address all epilepsy-related issues in Pakistan. It is a formal, systematized extension of the not-so-regular individual and organizational epilepsy-related activities that were undertaken by the then NRPWF President and Head of the Department of Neurology, JPMC since 1985. CECP activities are formulated by a core team and executed by a small team of volunteer neurologists and some concerned citizens under two titles.
National Epilepsy Centre (CECP-NEC) for holistic medical management, professional education, and research.
Epilepsy Support Pakistan (CECP-ESP) for countrywide epilepsy awareness to ‘change the mindset of the nation’ towards epilepsy and those affected.
NRPWF's Other Projects
Upgradation of Department of Neurology, JPMC
Several projects for enhancing the facilities at the newly established Department of Neurology at JPMC were undertaken by NRPWF. To help with diagnostics in the department, purchase, installation, and maintenance of diagnostic equipment including a 500 MA X-ray machine with fluoroscopy, a 16-channel digital EEG machine, an Evoked Potential, Electromyography, and Nerve Conduction Machine was done. The project of restructuring and extension of the in-patient ward, with space allocation for potential ICU along with the relocation of its Outpatient Department was undertaken by the NGO. An educational wing with a library and seminar hall was constructed with complete furnishings. NRPWF has supported several departmental research activities.
Najmuddin Auditorium Complex, JPMC
Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Karachi is Pakistan’s premier postgraduate medical institute and pioneer in holding annual medical conferences in the country with delegates from all over Pakistan and foreign countries taking part in it. Numerous such conferences have been held mostly with make-shift arrangements. The great need for a proper auditorium and seminar rooms complex had been voiced for decades but nothing concrete materialized. In 2002, NRPWF pledged to present this premier institute, an auditorium complex, to fill the void of this much-needed facility.
NRPWF conceived and planned this project and obtained approval from the Ministry of Health, Federal Government of Pakistan. Under a signed MOU between JPMC and NRPWF, the Najmuddin Auditorium Complex was constructed, furnished, and equipped by the NGO. This entire project was financed by a single gracious philanthropic family who wishes to remain anonymous.
This purpose-built, state-of-the-art facility provides space for a concurrent series of lectures, workshops, and symposia under one roof. Located in the heart of JPMC, it has convenient access to all departments.
From January 01, 2024, Najmuddin Auditorium Complex has been formally gifted to JPMC by NRPWF with all its furnishings and fixtures. It is hoped by the NGO that this auditorium complex will be used only for academic activities as wished by the donor family.
Emergency Operation Theatre Project (EOT Project), JPMC
The Emergency Operation Theatre Project, commissioned in 2002, was initiated and run under the aegis of NRPWF. It was later handed over to the newly formed registered trust – Accident & Emergency Foundation (AEF). Emergency operation theatres are operational round the clock where all emergency operations are performed free of cost. It is a venue for national and international operative procedure workshops and telemedicine.
Celebrating 30 years of Neurology Research & Patient Welfare Fund
December 28, 2019
Thirty years of the NGO was celebrated with a lunch get-together. NGO’s team members, volunteers, and well-wishers joined in to celebrate this landmark and the 80th Birthday of the NGO’s Founder President Prof. Emeritus Hasan Aziz who was given a token of appreciation for his dedicated services to the NGO.
