DUBAI // An Iraqi child is among the first patients to receive vision-saving treatment under a scheme to deliver free eye care to one million people in a year. Zinah Atheer, aged six, left Baghdad last week for Dubai with her parents and doctor to receive treatment from a team of volunteer eye specialists as part of the Noor Dubai initiative.
She and another Iraqi girl, aged eight, joined a group of youngsters from Mali, West Africa, as the first batch of foreign patients to be operated on at a 35-bed ward set aside for Noor Dubai at Dubai Hospital. Zinah was flown to Dubai on a private jet paid for by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to correct her strabismum - crossed-eyes - and a badly drooping eyelid, which was seriously affecting her vision.
She spent only five days in Dubai, where a team of leading American specialists gave her a bright future. Dr Martin Lederman, who operated on Zinah, is one of the group which came to the Emirates from Columbia University. Dr Lederman said: "I performed six operations on Wednesday - all of which were strabismus. Zinah had surgery at home but it had not worked. Her vision was extremely impaired and it was also a cosmetic issue."
If left untreated the condition would have permanently blinded her, he said. "You can be born with the condition or it can develop," he said. "But it becomes progressively worse over time. "This condition is a problem in the developing world particularly because parents are often ashamed of their children. Very often they don't feed them or feed them last. Those affected cannot get married or employed - so there's also a social effect."
Dr Lederman, also performed surgery on the eight-year-old Iraqi girl whose vision had been severely impaired by a dislocated lens in her right eye. "In this case it was a metabolic problem. Her eye had never developed properly so the lens had fallen out of place and could not focus, distorting vision," he said. He corrected the problem by inserting an artificial lens - a complicated procedure which took two hours to complete and will take the patient between one and two weeks to recover from.
"It's a wonderful thing," he said. "I saw the children the following day, they were still recovering from the anaesthetic. Of course they were frightened - they don't know me and I don't speak their language - but when I have done this work in other parts of the world you feel good for them and they feel good for what you have done. It's very special." Dr Lederman left Dubai at the weekend after performing a week of surgery.
The Iraqi youngsters' visas, flights and accommodation were arranged and paid for by Noor Dubai officials. Many more patients who could not afford or obtain access to treatment are due to arrive in Dubai this week. For each week of Ramadan, specialists in particular eye conditions will perform surgeries at a ward set aside for Noor Dubai at Dubai Hospital. Patients, many of whom were pre-screened in their home countries before the campaign's launch, are encouraged to bring their doctor with them so that he or she may learn about the treatment administered and obtain the necessary information about follow-up care. Zinah's doctor accompanied her for her operation.
The cost of follow-up care in the patient's home country will also be met by Noor Dubai, which is funded by Sheikh Mohammed. He launched Noor Dubai at the start of Ramadan as a gift from the UAE to the world's less fortunate. Noor Dubai is also undertaking overseas work in developing countries, including Ethiopia. UAE eye doctors and nurses will also be encouraged to volunteer their time and skills.
loatway@thenational.ae * Those wishing to contact Noor Dubai can do so on noor-dubai.org
