Sharjah: The Big Heart Foundation (TBHF) has launched a new health project aimed at restoring the vision of 5,000 Palestinian children suffering from eye problems.
The project is being implemented in cooperation with the St. John Eye Hospital Group in Jerusalem, said to be the only charity that provides eye-care services in occupied Palestinian territories.
Mariam Al Hammadi, director of Salam Ya Seghar campaign, said the percentage of visually impaired people in the Palestinian territories is ten times higher compared to developed countries. Around 30 per cent of the population under the age of 10 in these areas is susceptible to various eye diseases such as strabismus, eye pressure, blurred vision and trauma.
The project aims to provide free health services and treatment to about 5,000 Palestinian children suffering from various eye diseases in the West Bank, occupied east Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, as well as seeking to perform 300 surgeries for children whose cases require surgical intervention.
The new project has an estimated cost of $500,000 (around Dh1.83 million) and will run until September 30, 2016, with TBHF covering all costs of treatment for children being treated at St John Eye Hospital Group facilities located in these areas.
The project will also give special attention to children living in remote and marginalised Palestinian areas, by reaching out to them through the St John Mobile Clinic.
The project is accompanied by a series of awareness campaigns, during which educational bulletins, publications and leaflets containing information and guidelines about prevention of eye disease will be distributed in order to enhance awareness about eye conditions and preventive measures to help lower the rates of eyesight loss in the Palestinian territories.
TBHF was launched by Shaikha Jawaher Bint Mohammad Al Qasimi, Wife of His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah.
