DUBAI // The Noor Dubai campaign against blindness will this month unveil a range of programmes to deliver its pledge to treat a million visually impaired people in developing countries in the coming year. A flying eye hospital is expected to be one of the features of the campaign launched on Wednesday by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, with a bottomless fund to ensure one million people receive eye care as a "gift from the UAE and its people".
Details of treatment missions and awareness and training programmes for doctors in some of the world's poorest countries will be outlined at news briefings during Ramadan, Qadhi Saeed al Murooshid, director general of the Dubai Health Authority, said yesterday. "We are working with medical associations, ministries in the countries we will be helping and international organisations including ORBIS and the Lion's Club, which are already preparing and identifying applicants," he said.
ORBIS is a non-profit global organisation whose mission is to eliminate avoidable blindness in developing countries, and the Lion's Club is the world's biggest volunteer service organisation. "We are not specifying certain countries which will benefit, we simply believe that we should be focusing on those countries who need us, regardless of which part of the world they are in," Mr Murooshid said.
Noor Dubai's aims are to help eliminate preventable blindness in underdeveloped countries by providing therapeutic, preventive and educational programmes to treat and prevent blindness and visual impairment. Its goal is to reach one million people in a year. It is expected to use ORBIS' flying eye hospital, a DC-10 jet manned by eye care professionals that provides sight-saving treatment and procedures in developing countries.
The plane has an operating theatre and is also a mobile teaching hospital with a 48-seat classroom for local doctors, nurses and technicians. Local doctors usually pre-select patients whose conditions match the programme's specialities, giving priority to children and those who cannot afford to pay for operations. Mr Murooshid said US doctors from Columbia University and eye specialists from Germany would visit the UAE next week to help the Noor Dubai campaign.
"They will be working closely with us from next week to engage in those cases already in Dubai," he said. "Columbia University has one of the best medical schools in the US and its professors and their colleagues have taken the initiative to come and help." He said the campaign would be divided into stages and an important element would be to raise awareness locally and internationally about eye care and how diet deficiencies such as lack of Vitamin A can damage eyesight.
"We have so many exciting ideas that will be implemented. The campaign will reach its objective in one year, but its outcome will last more than one year." He did not give an estimate of the cost of the campaign, but said Sheikh Mohammed would provide the funds. Residents are welcome to contribute and those wishing to do so should visit www.noor-dubai.com to contact the organisers. @email:loatway@thenational.ae
