AST demands compulsory eye screening in schools

Rawalpindi:Al-Shifa Trust has called for mandatory eye screenings in schools, stressing that early detection and treatment of vision problems can significantly reduce the risk of childhood blindness.

Speaking to the media, President of Al-Shifa Trust Major General (r) Rehmat Khan said that while some eye health initiatives exist, they are not mandated by national policy and mainly depend on periodic campaigns or voluntary participation. This, he emphasized, is not enough to address the growing burden of childhood vision issues.

He announced that a formal letter would soon be sent to provincial and federal governments, urging the implementation of a coordinated national eye screening program in all schools and madrassas. Apart from the developed world, some countries in Latin America and South East Asia have successfully reduced childhood blindness through compulsory school eye examinations. Pakistan still lacks such a national program, he said.

He added that Al-Shifa Trust had already taken significant steps in this direction, screening over 175,000 schoolchildren in the past year through more than 550 free eye camps in underserved communities. The trust aims to reach over two million patients and perform more than 120,000 eye surgeries in the coming year, he informed.

On one hand, many patients cannot afford treatment, and on the other, there are people with the resources to help. Now is the time for those who can help to come forward, said Rehmat Khan. He also highlighted the trust’s expansion plans, which include new hospitals in Lahore, Haveli Lakha, and Gilgit, as well as a dedicated Eye Cancer Centre in Lahore.

Chief of Medical Services at Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital Professor Dr. Wajid Ali Khan underscored the scale of the challenge. With over 250 million people in Pakistan, more than half of whom are children and adolescents, no single organization can handle the country’s entire eye care burden.

He proposed a collaborative national strategy, suggesting that every medical college adopt a district and take responsibility for eye screening programs among vulnerable populations. Al-Shifa’s screening data revealed that 10 per cent of children had convergence insufficiency, congenital cataracts and myopia, a common condition in which light is not properly focused on the retina.

Dr. Wajid said that an effective school-based eye health program should include trained health workers in every school or provide basic training to teachers to identify vision issues and refer children for specialised care if needed. Early intervention, he stressed, can prevent permanent vision loss and significantly improve educational outcomes.

With public support and government commitment, Pakistan can move toward eliminating avoidable childhood blindness, securing a healthier future for the next generation, he said. Nearly 80 per cent of patients across trust’s facilities in Rawalpindi, Chakwal, Kohat, Sukkur, Muzaffarabad, and Gilgit receive free treatment.