RAWALPINDI: Doctors have warned that Pakistan is facing a growing epidemic of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), urging the government to introduce mandatory nationwide screening of premature babies to prevent avoidable childhood blindness.

According to Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital's Department of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, improving neonatal survival rates are increasing the number of infants vulnerable to ROP, a potentially blinding eye disease that affects premature babies.

Doctors indicated that nearly one million babies are born prematurely in Pakistan every year, with an estimated 300,000 developing varying degrees of ROP. Thousands of these infants require delicate sight-saving surgery. ROP occurs because the blood vessels of the retina, which begin forming about three months after conception, are disrupted by premature delivery, potentially leading to irreversible blindness if untreated. Infants born weighing less than 1.5 kilograms are at the highest risk.

Dr. Amjad, a pediatric ophthalmologist and ROP specialist at Al-Shifa Trust, pointed out the lack of a nationwide screening program in Pakistan despite the rising number of premature births. He highlighted that neighboring India had significantly reduced ROP-related blindness by implementing mandatory eye examinations for premature infants before discharge from neonatal intensive care units.

The treatment of ROP requires highly trained pediatric ophthalmologists, specialized anesthesia teams, and advanced surgical facilities. Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital is currently the only facility in Pakistan performing these complex ROP surgeries. In the past year, the hospital conducted around 560 surgeries free of cost, though this accounts for only a small fraction of the babies estimated to need treatment.

Doctors expressed concern that infants born in rural and underserved areas are at the greatest risk due to the lack of hospitals offering ROP screening or treatment, increasing the likelihood of missing the narrow treatment window. They urged the government to make ROP screening mandatory in neonatal intensive care units, expand specialist services, and allocate funding to prevent an ROP epidemic from leaving thousands of Pakistani children permanently blind.