Diabetes causes vision problems in millions of people

Rawalpindi: President Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital Major General (r) Rehmat Khan said on Monday that diabetes is becoming more and more common in Pakistan, which is one of the primary reasons for vision problems. Recent reports suggest that every fourth person in the country has diabetes, and 25 percent of them do not know they have the problem, which results in severe eye problems.

He added that the diabetic retinopathy, a condition in which the blood vessels in the eye’s retina are damaged, is on rise. Diabetic retinopathy is the most typical reason for vision problems. Every day, hundreds of people in Pakistan are losing their vision due to avoidable conditions like cataracts. Over 2.6 million individuals suffer from preventable visual impairments, and cataracts are a significant contributor to preventable blindness in those aged 50 years and above. About 42 per cent of school-age children suffer from refractive error-related disorders. Since the founding of Al Shifa Trust, over 30 million people have received treatment, and 900,000 surgeries have been completed, said Rehmat Khan.

Almost one million OPD patients are received, and ten thousand surgeries are performed monthly at the trust’s hospitals in Rawalpindi, Chakwal, Kohat, Muzaffarabad, and Sukkar. He said that the scope of services will increase with the completion of the under-construction hospital in Gilgit and new block at Chakwal hospital.

Together with the eye bank, Light house, Research centre, Eye cancer centre, glaucoma, retina, and paediatric referral services departments, the AST runs one of the best children’s eye hospital in Asia. At its six facilities, the AST offers all services to 80 percent of patients free of cost. It also manages the most extensive outreach programme, setting up free eye camps nationwide, particularly in remote places. Annual expenditure of the trust is around Rs4 billion and 70 percent of this annual expenditure is donation.

The threat of blindness has gotten out of control because of ignorance and a lack of district-level services. With the population now over 250 million, a new study is also required to evaluate the seriousness of the issue. The President AST said a government sponsored awareness campaign in schools and the media, along with diabetes treatment, can help lower the number of people suffering from eye disorders.