The Alma Bi Hospital

Our Alma Bi Hospital provides free medical services in an impoverished rural area in Pakistan.

Open since 2007, The Alma Bi Hospital has made an enormous difference to the lives of thousands of vulnerable people who are unable to pay for their treatment. During specialist camps, patients sometimes travel as far as 100 miles to receive treatment they can't find anywhere else in the country.

The hospital is funded entirely by charitable donations, mostly through The Alma Hospital Trust in the UK. It's eschewed government or corporate support in order to ensure its integrity and high standards of operation. But these ethics clearly come at a cost and there's a constant struggle to raise enough money to keep the hospital going.

Hospital Facilities

The hospital itself comprises of:

• 55 in-patients beds

• 2 operating theatres

• 3 GP consulting rooms

• Large dispensary / pharmacy

• On-site mosque

A vital aspect of day-to-day operations is its Western attitude to cleanliness and hygiene. The fabric of the building is always kept immaculately clean, minimising the risk of infection. No smoking and no spitting rules are strictly enforced. This is not a prevalent attitude in free hospitals throughout the country, as many are kept in very poor condition. We believe that your ability to pay should not affect your chances of recovery. Despite the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, our staff has continued to work tirelessly to provide essential medical services to those in need, such as specialist eye treatments and comprehensive maternity care.

Geography & local community

The Alma Bi Hospital resides in District Hafizabad, in the Western Punjab. About 120km from Lahore and 250km from Islamabad, it's the farming heartland of the Punjab, irrigated by the mighty Chenab canals. Wheat and sugar cane fields dominate the landscape, harvested by a poverty-stricken rural population, whose lives have changed little for hundreds of years.

Many families live close to the national poverty line, where a single health emergency can put households into long-term hardship. In this rural context, access to reliable healthcare has historically been limited by geography, income, and transport, with illness often managed at home until it becomes urgent or unavoidable.

Our hospital is open 24 hours a day and is deeply embedded in the life of the community it serves. Staff are drawn from the region, patients are known by name, and care is delivered with an understanding of local realities.

The Alma Hospital Trust operates not as a temporary intervention, but as a permanent, round-the-clock presence - supporting health, dignity, and continuity of care across Hafizabad year after year.

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Hospital Location

Alma Bi Hospital

Chak 474, Babyam, Tehsil Pindi Bhattian

District Hafizabad

Pakistan

Measurable Benefits

Health data gathered from the local population has improved continuously since the hospital first opened. Of particular pride is the drop in infant mortality, which has shown a marked improvement since the hospital started offering comprehensive maternity care.

MOHAMMED YOUNIS MBE - FOUNDER TRUSTEE

9 March 1952 – 9 June 2025

Mohammed Younis MBE devoted his life to service, to family, to community, and to the belief that dignity should never depend on wealth or geography.

Born in a rural village in one of Pakistan’s poorest regions, he built a life that crossed borders, cultures, and social divides, guided always by humility and responsibility.

For most of his working life, Mohammed was a Royal Mail delivery driver. Like thousands of Communication Workers Union members, he worked unsocial hours, drove in all conditions, and took overtime to provide for his family. He believed deeply in the dignity of work and in the power of standing together. The Communication Workers Union was a constant presence in his home, shaping his understanding of solidarity, responsibility, and collective action.

Alongside his work at Royal Mail, and with the support of the Communication Workers Union, Lord Clarke, committed board members, and family, Mohammed helped establish the Alma Hospital Trust in 1996, naming it after his mother, whose inability to access proper care became a catalyst for action.

The hospital opened its doors in 2007 and has provided free healthcare to those most in need for nearly nineteen years.

In recognition of his service, Mohammed Younis was awarded an MBE in 2006. He took quiet pride not in accolades, but in the work itself and in what had been achieved collectively.

His life stands as a testament to working people building dignity, hope, and care for others.