PESHAWAR: Caretaker Chief Minister Muhammad Azam Khan said on Saturday that we must advocate for eye health education in schools to raise awareness about the importance of regular eye examination and adopting healthy eye care practices.
“We must continue to promote early detection, treatment of eye conditions, especially in children as their future depends on healthy vision,” he told a gathering in Charsadda to mark the “World Sight Day”.
The event was organised by a private hospital.
Addressing the event as chief guest, Azam Khan said that World Sight Day was observed worldwide in the second week of October every year to mark the importance of sight in human life, adding that the day was dedicated to raising awareness about visual impairment and the importance of vision care.
He remarked that World Sight Days served as a reminder that we must strive to make vision care accessible to everyone, regardless of their economic, social and geographic circumstances. He termed vision as the most vital sense and precious gift of God, and said that it was imperative for everyone to take special care of this precious gift.
“We acknowledge the remarkable work being done by organizations, researchers, doctors and volunteers to prevent, treat and cure vision related issues,” the chief minister said, adding that we express our gratitude to those who tirelessly tried to provide accessible eye care to underserved communities, ensuring that individuals in need can regain their sight and hope.
Azam Khan said that according to World Health Organization, an estimated 2.2 billion peoples worldwide were visually impaired, with all most half of these cases being preventable or treatable, and continued that these statistics underscored the urgency to provide quality eye care to all regardless of their socioeconomic status
The chief minister highlighted the importance of research and innovations in the field of ophthalmology and said that it was essential for developing new treatments and technologies to address eye diseases and vision loss, ultimately offering hope to those living with usual impairments.
Azam Khan lauded the role of Darul-Rehmat Medical Complex Charsadda in provision of quality and valuable services in the field of eye care to the local people.
Advisor to Chief Minister on Health Dr Riaz Anwar, doctors, medical and students attended the event.
The chief minister also led an awareness walk and met with eye patients being treated in the hospital.