DOHA: Qatari ophthalmologists are likely to serve as volunteer surgeons for a global charity, dedicated to preserving and restoring the eyesight of the poorest people in the poorest communities across the world.
Her Royal Highness Princess Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, the UK, travelled to Doha this week on board the Orbis Flying Eye Hospital to meet local medical specialists and ambassadors, building on the success of last year’s inaugural visit of the unique training facility in a DC-10 plane.
“As Patron of Vision 2020, The Right to Sight and Global Ambassador of the IAPB (The International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness), I am committed to furthering the cause and aims of our mandate to eliminate avoidable blindness by 2020 by working alongside our partner organisations, including Orbis.
“I hope our visit will attract much interest and support from the people of Qatar,” Princess Sophie told a press conference at the Oryx Rotana Hotel yesterday.
Orbis provides tools, training and technology for local doctors and healthcare professionals to develop solutions to tackle avoidable blindness in their countries.
The hospital also conducts surgeries and provides eye care to children in low-income areas like rural India, Cameroon, Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Zambia.
“We are looking for medical and professional support from Qatar. We look forward to partnering with to experts to share skills,” said Dr Robert Walters, Orbis EMEA Chairman.
Orbis held discussions with experts and officials at the Hamad Medical Corporation and Qatar National Research Fund.
Experts explained about childhood blindness and highlighted the Orbis message that education is much harder to access if a child has sight problems.
The Orbis team explained that if sight problems aren’t addressed early on in life, they can become irreversible.
Princess Sophie highlighted how life with no access to education or employment can mean a loss of independence, so by restoring sight Orbis can also restore opportunity.
“According to World Health Organisation, there are about 1.5 million blind children in the world, of whom about 1 million live in Asia and about 300,000 in Africa.
“Each year, an estimated half a million more children become blind, up to 60 percent of whom die in childhood,” said Dr Walters.
“Globally, care for the delicate eyes of children is scarce. It takes specialist equipment, training and infrastructure and this is where Orbis comes in, introducing specialist training and providing necessary equipment and infrastructure to treat children in poor communities”, he said.
In 2012, Orbis and its partners treated 4,500,000 cases with more than 55,545 surgeries and trained over 20,830 doctors, nurses and others.
The Peninsula
