.JPG) It focuses on a few priority disorders, and on what action needs to be taken from now to the year 2020, in terms of; (i) disease control; (ii) human resource development, and (iii) infrastructure strengthening and appropriate technology development for eye care delivery.
In Pakistan almost 10 million people are suffering from visual impairment, 1.5 million are blind in both eyes and twice that number are unilaterally blind. 80% are blind simply because not enough resources are available to prevent or cure their blindness. The socioeconomic consequences are worse in Pakistan because of insufficient rehabilitative services and socioeconomic benefits for the blind and severely visually impaired population. Therefore to combat the menace of blindness, Pakistan successfully launched Vision 2020 on 26th February 2001. The eye conditions identified as immediate priorities are cataract, trachoma, Vitamin A deficiency, childhood blindness, refractive errors and low vision.
Islamic Relief in Pakistan started prevention of blindness programme in 1998 through organizing cataract surgical camps mostly in remote and underprivileged areas lacking appropriate eye care facilities. In 2005, Islamic Relief started taking some new initiatives under its Prevention of Blindness (PoB) programme to expand the spectrum of activities according to the Vision 2020 guidelines. As part of the new strategy an eye hospital in Noshki was established with the support of Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal Department. This eye care facility is comprehensive (an eye hospital equipped with sufficient technology and trained manpower) in District Nushki, Balochistan, for which the department committed to share 75% capital cost (for equipment), whereas 25% capital cost and the total recurrent cost is solely be born by Islamic Relief. This is a secondary eye hospital, i.e., a referral center for primary health/eye care level catered for providing ophthalmic medical and surgical services for all common as well as mild to moderately complicated eye conditions.
The hospital based services are linked with community based eye care interventions including cataract screening/surgical camps, school eye health clinics, primary eye care training sessions for primary health care staff and mass health education campaigns to promote healthy eye care habits in the general population. By this expeditious maneuver we aim to establish a role model for eye care services at district level encompassing all four components of comprehensive eye care, i.e., promotion of eye health, prevention of preventable diseases, cure of treatable diseases and rehabilitation of incurably blinds (mobility, daily living skills and vocational trainings).
Islamic Relief plan is to replicate this model in other provinces of Pakistan according to the needs assessment. Advocacy and cooperation from local administrative authorities and of course in house organizational authorities too will certainly be the sole facilitating tool to carry out all this. Islamic Relief has set this feature (coordination with local administrative authorities) as the top priority from the very beginning of the project proceedings.
.JPG) Mosa khan badini a sixty year old man taking care of 15 family members from Qadirabad, District Noshki, Balochistan is one of those millions suffering from eye ailment. Mosa works as blacksmith and merely make enough money to support his family.
“We are fifteen family members living al together and I work as blacksmith. But due to my weak eye sight and other eye illness I could not work properly. It became severe and I had to stay at home for few days that mean I wasn’t able to make any money to provide my family the basic food and other stuff as I am the only bread winner for my family.
I live in the suburbs of Noshki town and walk to the town center every day but with my eye problem I couldn’t any more which was making my life difficult. There was no eye care facility in this area so I had to go to Quetta, the capital of Balochistan district where cost of eye treatment is very high, not something that I can afford.
After visiting this hospital [Islamic Relief eye welfare hospital] I have been given free of cost good quality treatment. It is unbelievable as I was hopeless that I would ever get my eye ailment treated.
I am extremely grateful to the organisation [Islamic Relief] for setting up this hospital and providing destitute people like me a hope to live happily.”
There are many such stories where simple treatment has brought enormous change in those people’s lives that almost lost hope. The hospital is providing most needed eye treatment to the local people in their area making access easy and feasible for them. |
