Groundbreaking ceremony of  first-ever children’s eye hospital today

Rawalpindi

Lack of knowledge and shortage of healthcare facilities have been blamed for the increasing incidence of eye diseases which is the main reason for spread of blindness, both among children and young people.

Pakistan is among one of the top countries where children and others are losing eyesight that can have been saved by timely intervention, said Al Shifa Trust Eye Hospital President General (r) Hamid Javed.

Talking to ‘The News’, he said that 85% people who lost their eyesight due to some diseases were curable, but people prone to these diseases were not well-informed about the possible cure centres or hospitals.

General (r) Hamid Javed said that it was matter of grave concern as the number of people likely to suffer from eye diseases was increasing day by day, while globally one child loses eyesight every minute, while the ratio in Pakistan is alarming as 500,000 children are blind.

"As per our careful assessment, the percentage of blind people makes up almost 1% of the total population of Pakistan, thus people falling between 100,000 to 200,000 have either become blind or moving towards blindness,” he observed.

Moreover, according to a survey conducted in schools of the twin cities, almost 10% children were found with eye-related diseases, he added.

In a bid to meet future requirements of ever-increasing number of eye patients, the Al Shifa Trust Eye Hospital will take first-ever initiative in the country’s history by establishing a children's eye hospital with an estimated cost of Rs1 billion, he informed.

The groundbreaking ceremony of the facility will be held today, he informed, adding that it would inspire other organisations also to establish children-specific eye hospitals.

"We will double the capacity in one year as the number of children with eye problems is increasing in Pakistan which can be attributed to the increase in pollution, allergies, unhygienic conditions and general lack of awareness," he said.

He said that only a specialised doctor can check a child and special equipment is required for screening premature babies, he said, adding that it is easy to cure eye diseases in childhood rather to wait and let it grow to a complicated level.