Dubai: More than 5,000 patients were examined for visual impairment during a six-day eye camp organised by the non-profit organisation Noor Dubai Foundation last week in Natore district of Rajshahi division in Bangladesh.

It was the Foundation’s fourth eye camp this year during which 700 were admitted to the Rajshahi eye hospital for sight-saving surgery.

Founded in September 2008 by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the Noor Dubai initiative aims to heal more than one million men, women and children around the world in one year. To date, Noor Dubai has restored the vision of more than six million people in countries including Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Ghana, Palestine, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Bahrain and the UAE. It has performed cataract surgeries for thousands of individuals, and provided medication and corrective eyewear through eye camps.

In a media statement, Dr. Manal Taryam, CEO of the Noor Dubai Foundation who accompanied the medical team in Bangladesh said, “The population of Bangladesh is estimated to be 158,065,841 people. Of this population, approximately 800,000 individuals are blind, and 40,000 of them are children below the age of 15 years. The estimated prevalence of blindness in adults above 30 years of age is 1.53 per cent. According to local officials, the leading causes of blindness in Bangladesh are cataract, glaucoma and childhood blindness.”

She said the team faced many challenges including difficult weather conditions and transporting patients from Natore to Rajshahi but was pleased with the positive outcome of the eye camp.

The six-day series of intensive operations to cure blindness in people suffering from cataracts and other causes of reversible blindness in Bangladesh was conducted in collaboration with international partners and supported by the Dubai Islamic Bank Foundation.

“Patients received surgical treatment from the first day,” added Dr. Taryam. “Successful surgeries were conducted on patients aged between 30 and 90 years. Most patients suffered from cataract, the leading cause for reversible blindness worldwide”.

The Noor Dubai medical team consisted of 15 ophthalmology specialists and 26 ophthalmic technicians and nurses from the Rajshahi eye hospital.