RIYADH: A Lebanese woman flown on an emergency flight from Beirut to Riyadh is receiving urgent lung and breast cancer treatment following a generous intervention by Saudi Arabia’s King Salman.
Sahar Ali Karim was aided by the Saudi Ministry of Health in her transfer to the world-class King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center on Monday.
The facility is the largest cancer treatment center in the Gulf region. It is accredited by the World Health Organization as a Collaborating Center for Cancer Prevention and Control.
Saudi authorities had begun the process of transferring Karim after Saudi Arabia’s King Salman issued a directive to treat her cancer, which had led to bone metastasis.
Karim’s husband thanked King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Twitter for sponsoring the treatment of his wife.
He said: “A distress call from Lebanon, and a generous hand answered it from Riyadh, the capital of the Kingdom of humanity. Thank you, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman for your generous agreement to treat my wife’s cancer. I’m asking God Almighty to make her in the balance of your good deeds.”
He added in the viral tweet: “Praise be to God ... how much hope and life this approval has made in us.”
Ahmed Al-Fuhaid, an academic and member of the board of directors of the Saudi Journalists Association, said: “It is important for governments to deal with humanitarian conditions in isolation from the interactions and disagreements that occur between countries.”
He added that Saudis, since ancient times, have sought to do good and provide aid to those in need, and that “people here take the initiative to extend a helping hand to meet the needs of people inside and outside the country.”
Al-Fuhaid said that such aid takes many forms, including financial and in-kind donations including food, medicine and clothing, in addition to support of tools, products and services.
He added that Saudi aid to needy people around the world “is clearly evident through the figures issued by international organizations,” and that the Kingdom’s generosity on a state level is “a reflection of the personality and nature of the Saudi people.”
Social media users interacted with the viral tweet posted by Karim’s husband, with many praising the professionalism of the Kingdom’s cancer treatment centers.
Thousands of Twitter posts wished Karim a speedy recovery, and gave their wishes in prayer.
