Noor Dubai Foundation Provides Free Eye Treatment For Rohingya Refugees

Noor Dubai Foundation has set foot to provide free eye treatment for Rohingya refugees after a health survey conducted found that 50,000 Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh are in need of eye treatment

DUBAI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 06th Feb, 2019) Noor Dubai Foundation has set foot to provide free eye treatment for Rohingya refugees after a health survey conducted found that 50,000 Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh are in need of eye treatment.

Noor Dubai Foundation is a non-profit organisation, which has benefited more than 27 million individuals since its inception in 2008 with the aim of providing treatment to preventable forms of blindness, preventing the spread of diseases that cause blindness and educating the public about the causes of blindness and how to avoid them.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that more than 750,000 refugees comprised of the Muslim minority in Myanmar have fled to Bangladesh since august 2017. The refugees reside in 30 camps in the city of Cox's Bazar. A health survey conducted found that 50,000 Rohingya refugees are in need to eye treatment.

"The UAE has been continuously playing a vital role in providing humanitarian help for the Rohingya refugees. The refugee camps do not have the needed treatment and preventive eye care. The closest hospital to the camps, which provides the necessary eye care, is more than an hour away and they have limited resources.

The hospital also only has two doctors, one of which is a visiting doctor. All these factors make it difficult for those living in the camp to get the treatment they need," said Dr Manal Taryam, CEO of Noor Dubai Foundation.

Therefore, Noor Dubai Foundation in partnership with Fred Hollows Foundation and Bangladesh’s Health Ministry, provided 2,000 refugees with the needed eye treatment and conducted 500 surgeries from January 2019 to date.

Dr Taryam said Noor Dubai Foundation will continue on providing treatment until the end of February this year. She added that the foundation is currently studying the possibility of further expanding their eye services.

Meanwhile, Ian Wishart, CEO of The Fred Hollows Foundation, said, "The refugees have been through difficult times while fleeing their countries, especially those who have preventable visual impairment. We have witnessed many painful stories of suffering; therefore, it was only right to partner with Noor Dubai Foundation to restore their eyesight and hope. The Fred Hollows Foundation would like to thank Noor Dubai Foundation for partnering with us to help restore the vision of Rohingya refugees."