Bahrain's Isa Award for service to humanity goes to top Nepali doctor
Dr Sanduk Ruit’s revolutionary method cut rate of preventable blindness in Nepal by half
Manama, Bahrain: Noted Nepali eye surgeon, Dr Sanduk Ruit, has received this year’s Isa Award for Service to Humanity.
The prestigious award, given every two years by the Kingdom of Bahrain, covers 11 categories including disaster prevention and relief, education, and human tolerance.
The winner of the award, a first of its kind in the Arab world, receives a gold medal and $1 million cash amount.
Among the nominees this year were the WHO foundation but the jury chose Dr Ruit, who has helped restore the sight of over 180,000 people in Asia and other parts of the world, using his low-cost small-incision cataract surgery technique.
Making the announcement, Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, Special Representative of His Majesty the King and Board of Trustees Chairman, said there were 139 nominations for the award this year. “The Nepali ophthalmologist Dr Sanduk Ruit was recognised for his service to the community and achievements,” he remarked.
Speaking on the occasion, Ali Abdullah Khalifa, Secretary General of the Isa Award for Service to Humanity, said the award was being conferred upon Dr Ruit for his novel approach to treating cataracts. “He was able to save the sight of hundreds of thousands of people who would have otherwise gone blind,” the Secretary General noted.
Who is Dr Sanduk Ruit?
Born in a remote area of Nepal, Ruit got his medical education in India through a scholarship. He came back to Nepal and joined as a government health officer.
Ruit went for research to Australia where he mastered the latest techniques in cataract microsurgery, using implanted intraocular lenses.
Ruit returned to Nepal and introduced the new techniques in his country in 1988. Brilliant and innovative, his landmark technique helped countless people get cheap but high-quality lenses.
In a service spanning more than 30 years, he set up centres that provided not only eye-care services but also manufactured extremely high-quality intraocular lenses for surgery for less than $3 apiece.
Over the years Dr Ruit’s mobile eye camps have expanded to China, India, Bangladesh, Cambodia, North Korea among other places.
He has also performed more than 50,000 eye surgeries and procedures at no charge to those who otherwise couldn’t afford them.
Dr Ruit has previously won the Ramon Magsaysay award (2006), Order of Australia (2007) and Padma Shri Award in India (2018).