UAE | Government

Visually impaired hoping new initiative will empower them

Visually impaired people have welcomed the Noor Dubai initiative and voiced hope it will open a new window of light for them by way of general awareness and appropriate medical intervention.

  • By Bassam Za'za', Senior Reporter and Wafa Issa, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 23:47 September 3, 2008
  • Gulf News

  • Shaikh Ahmad Bin Mohammad announces the launch of Noor Dubai yesterday on behalf of Shaikh Mohammad.
  • Image Credit: Megan Hirons/Gulf News

Dubai: Visually impaired people have welcomed the Noor Dubai initiative and voiced hope it will open a new window of light for them by way of general awareness and appropriate medical intervention.

Dana Nashawati, a 21-year-old with optic atrophy, said the initiative would engender hope in visually impaired individuals.

"Many visually impaired people have given up on changing their condition simply because they cannot afford it or they do not know about appropriate treatment; so I hope this initiative will help them," said Nashawati.

S.M, a 31-year-old with failing vision, said the initiative should concentrate on spreading awareness and highlighting the plight of the visually impaired.

"Many people do not know much about the plight of the visually impaired and are very intolerant towards this category of people and this calls for education and awareness among the public," she said.

Shaikha Al Shuaraqi, a 31-year-old with optic atrophy, is hoping the initiative will empower visually impaired people to reach their goal in live.

"To help people cure their illness is a noble case and many visually impaired people cannot afford treatment. This initiative, if it fulfils its aims, will spread hope and light in each and every one of us," she said.

Many visually impaired people have given up on changing their condition simply because they cannot afford it or they do not know about the right treatment; so I hope this initiative will help them."

According to the World Health Organisation, cataract, glaucoma, corneal opacity, diabetic retinopathy, onchocerciasis, childhood blindness, trachoma, and some other causes of blindness can potentially all be prevented or treated.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that, globally, up to 75 per cent of all blindness cases are avoidable.

However, the proportion of the specific causes of blindness varies considerably from region to region, depending on local circumstance. Only about half the cases of childhood blindness are avoidable.

Potentially blinding eye conditions such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma are increasing.

These are non-communicable but chronic eye diseases that throw up issues including cost of treatment. Blindness remains a key barrier to development.

Health is the centrepiece of development and poverty alleviation; continuing to eliminate avoidable blindness among the poorest of the poor is a moral imperative.

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