He established the Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud Foundation to promote and institutionalize charitable activities. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah issued a royal decree on Jan. 21, 1995, giving his official approval for the charity.

Since then the foundation has been engaged in a variety of educational, health care and humanitarian activities. “Helping People to Help Themselves” is the foundation’s main objective.

The foundation’s Sultan Humanitarian City was opened in 2002 by then Crown Prince Abdullah. The SR1.2 billion city is one of the world's largest medical rehabilitation facilities that provide professional health care services to people with special needs, including children and the elderly.

Prince Faisal bin Sultan, the charity's secretary-general, described the 400-bed medical city as the foundation's first and foremost project. He highlighted the charity's educational, medical, housing, Islamic and social projects within and outside the Kingdom.

The city comprises a full-fledged center for medical diagnosis, 18 large and small operation theaters, a 250-bed rehabilitation center, a recovery center, a 150-bed center for the elderly, a child development center and an education and training center.

It encompasses both inpatient and outpatient facilities. An extensive range of rehabilitation programs is available, including services for pediatric, neurological, brain damage and spinal cord injuries. There are 13 outpatient clinics with 55 examination rooms and eight operating rooms. Important features of the outpatient clinics are the day surgery center and the craniofacial surgery center.

“Our patients are provided with the highest quality of medical care by highly experienced physicians, therapists, nurses, and support staff,” said Prince Faisal. The facility covers more than 1,000,000 square meters in Banban, north of Riyadh.

The foundation runs a number of projects within and outside the Kingdom. They include the Sultan Science and Technology Center in Alkhobar, an innovative project that provides opportunities for youth to learn about science and technology.

MeduNet (Sultan bin Abdulaziz Medical and Educational Telecommunications Program) provides access to medical research resources in cooperation with major universities and research centers around the world. It also provides advanced technology solutions, such as telemedicine and distance learning.

In order to provide education and understanding of the Arab and Islamic culture, the foundation established the Sultan Continuing Education Program at the Gulf University in Bahrain and the Sultan Arab & Islamic Studies Program at the University of California.

The foundation has implemented many other projects under the directives of Prince Sultan such as local universities and colleges, charitable societies, private and public hospitals as well as providing people with special needs with medical equipment, building roads and digging wells inside and outside the Kingdom.

The foundation has so far constructed about 700 housing units in different parts of the Kingdom provided with infrastructure facilities such as roads, parking areas, electricity and water networks and communications access.

“We have constructed 200 low-cost housing units for the poor in Al-Laith in Makkah province as part of a SR385 million project to supply affordable homes,” said Prince Faisal, adding that it aims to provide 1,246 houses in different parts of the Kingdom.

He said the foundation has completed 80 percent of another housing project in Hail where 50 homes and a 1,000-capacity mosque are under construction. “We have also completed about 40 percent of a similar housing project in Tabuk, constructing 250 housing units in nine locations,” Prince Faisal said.

The housing projects represent the foundation's contribution to social development, the secretary-general said. “We started the new housing projects in Makkah, Hail and Tabuk on the crown prince's directives to build 500 homes at a cost of SR197 million.”