Noor Dubai Foundation, a UAE-based Non-Governmental Charity Organization and part of the Mohamed Bin Rashid Global Initiatives, signed an agreement with Katsina State Government officials to launch the Katsina Comprehensive Eye Care Program, which aims to provide sustainable preventive and curative services for the state of Katsina and its neighboring states.   

This 4-year (2019 to 2022) sustainable comprehensive eye care program supports the “Vision 2020” global initiative and the National Eye Health Program in Nigeria.  It is aimed at improving the quality of life and socioeconomic status of people in the state of Katsina and in neighboring states through improved access to innovative high quality eye care services.

The agreement was signed under the patronage and presence of the Wife of the President of Nigeria, Her Excellency Aisha Buhari who received the delegation team in the presidential villa.  The delegation team was headed by Dr. Manal Taryam, CEO of Noor Dubai Foundation and included members of the UAE diplomatic mission in Nigeria . 

For her part, the CEO of Noor Dubai Foundation, Dr. Manal Taryam, praised the generous patronage of the program by the First Lady in Nigeria and the implementation partnership from the Katsina State Government and partners. The Noor Dubai Foundation recently concluded an eye health care survey in the state of Katsina to identify the percentage of visual impairment and its causes. Projects were also developed for the infrastructure to include the rehabilitation of 3 public hospitals to provide specialized eye healthcare services including surgical operations in addition to the establishment of 12 preventive screening centers and the provision of more than 250 primary health care centers to consultation services in the suburbs and surrounding areas.

The program plan invests in human resource development through recruitment and training of local ophthalmologists, optometrists and ophthalmic nurses to provide preventive and treatment services through integrated healthcare policies for patient referral paths. 

Also on the cards are 11,000 free cataract surgeries, which will increase the national cataract surgery rate from 10% to 50%, in addition to screenings for 36,000 individuals and 300,000 school students including training and educating more than 2 million health and community service providers in the state of Katsina.  

“The program is budgeted at USD 2 million and is projected to provide a socio-economic yield of USD 8 million in increased productivity. Furthermore, it will be comprehensive in addressing all major causes of visual loss, including cataract surgeries, free healthcare screening programs, rehabilitation support services for the permanently blind, as well as health education and awareness”, added Taryam.  

She also added that “the choice of Katsina resulted from a survey, which revealed that there were at least 122,000 visually impaired people in the state, out of which 24,000 were blind, while only 25% of cases benefit from surgery services.  The partnership will yield positive results because 82% of visual loss can be treated or prevented and that is why Noor Dubai Foundation engaged Katsina state to implement a 4-year sustainable comprehensive eye care program.

The signing of the agreement has also been commended by the UAE Ambassador to Nigeria, H.E. Fahad Altaffaq, who stated that this program provides a chance to positively impact the lives of the visually impaired community.  He encourages the citizens of Katsina State to take advantage of this opportunity, as this is one of the initiatives that highlights the UAE’s commitment towards further strengthening its relationship with Nigeria. He also commended the Foundation for taking the initiative to tackle visual impairment, as this agreement serves as a significant step towards providing quality eye care services for all.

As a member of the International Agency of the Prevention of Blindness  (IAPB) and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Global Initiatives, Noor Dubai Foundation aims to fulfil the objective of Vision 2020 – The Global Initiative for the Elimination of Avoidable Blindness.