Rawalpindi, Al-Shifa Trust, a prominent healthcare organization in Pakistan, has intensified its efforts to combat eye diseases and prevent blindness, especially in the nation’s remote areas. This year marked a significant increase in the number of eye camps organized by the trust, reflecting its commitment to this cause.
According to Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital, Major General (Retd) Rehmat Khan, President of the Al-Shifa Trust, announced during a media briefing that the trust established 500 eye camps in various remote areas of Pakistan, representing a 30 percent increase from the previous year. These camps included 400 general eye screening camps, 40 school screening camps, and 55 surgical eye camps.
Major General Khan highlighted the crucial support from sponsors like Qatar Charity, OGDCL, PPL, AFNA, the Pakistan Army, and the Rupani Foundation, which funded two eye camps. He pointed out that the trust’s outreach program is the largest in the country, extending to distant regions such as Gawadar, Pasni, and the impoverished districts of Gilgit-Baltistan.
Over the past year, these camps treated more than half a million patients, restoring the vision of thousands of impoverished individuals who otherwise lacked access to hospital care. The Pakistan Army’s support was particularly noteworthy, providing food, lodging, and other essentials in South and North Waziristan, thus facilitating general eye care and surgical services for locals.
Despite the challenges of setting up surgical eye camps in rural areas, the trust remains dedicated to fighting blindness. Over 125,000 schoolchildren were screened for various eye
conditions, and 6,000 of them received free glasses. This effort marks a substantial increase in the trust’s impact and reach.
Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital operates in Rawalpindi, Kohat, Sukkar, and Muzaffarabad, handling complex cases from remote areas. The trust’s outreach initiative, which began in 1992, has been consistently expanding its free eye camps across Pakistan.
The Al-Shifa Centre for Community Ophthalmology is working to increase the number of free eye camps annually in remote areas where most patients lack access to quality healthcare. With eye-related problems rising at an alarming rate, Major General Khan emphasized the need for increased efforts from both public and private entities to address this growing health concern.
The work of Al-Shifa Trust highlights the critical role of healthcare organizations in providing essential services to underprivileged and remote communities, thereby contributing significantly to the nation’s overall health and well-being.