UAE | Health
75m will go blind worldwide, minister warns
The number of blind persons worldwide will increase to 75 million within a short span of 13 years if immediate action is not taken, the minister of health warned yesterday.
- By Mahmood Saberi, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:00 March 30, 2007
- Four out of five people who lose their sight will do so unnecessarily
- 90 per cent of blind people live in developing countries
- 60 per cent of children are likely to die within one year of becoming blind
- Cost of global blindness is estimated to reach $110 billion (Dh403 billion) by the year 2020
- Vision 2020
Dubai: The number of blind persons worldwide will increase to 75 million within a short span of 13 years if immediate action is not taken, the minister of health warned yesterday.
The sad part is that a majority of the 35 million blind cases today were preventable and curable, said Minister Humaid Mohammad Obaid Al Qutami, at the opening of the largest opthalmological congress yesterday.
The minister was speaking on behalf of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Fin-ance and Industry, and patron of the Congress.
"It is an enormous concern and challenge for all health an medical institutions to minimise this suffering," he said, and called for an upgrade of the level of medical education and training to deal with increasing disabilities in Arab countries.
The Congress of the Middle East African Council of Ophthalmology (Meaco) is the largest so far and features 2000 delegates. "We at Dohms endeavour to position Dubai at the centre of the evolving healthcare sector," said Shaikh Hamdan.
Prince Abdulaziz Ahmad Al Saud, chairman of the board of Meaco, said this was the first time the Congress is being held under its new name after the inclusion of Turkey last year.
Cost of global blindness
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