Noor Dubai, a charity drive aiming to deliver eye care services to over one million people worldwide, entered the third week of its therapeutic programme, bringing the power of vision to people from Sudan and Mali.

A year-long campaign, Noor Dubai is recruiting patients from developing countries with the help of its international partners Lions Clubs International and Orbis International, and nationally through the Ministries of Health, the Red Crescent, and Red Cross Societies.
 
The focus of the campaign's third week is strabismus or squint, a condition characterised by the inability to align both eyes simultaneously. Strabismus can lead to double vision or the suppression of one eye. It is estimated that over five per cent of children worldwide suffer from this condition.

The patients were operated by Dr Sean Donahue, a strabismus specialist, and Noor Dubai's partner doctor from the Vanderbilt University, US.

Dr Donahue said: "I feel honoured to be a part of the Noor Dubai programme, which has allowed me not only to help patients from around the world but also share my expertise with fellow ophthalmologists."

Dr Donahue also said that a number of the cases were incredibly complex.

Under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Noor Dubai was launched on September 3 as part of the UAE's commitment to the goals outlined in the global initiative, Vision 2020: The Right to Sight.

Dubai Health Authority is mandated with the responsibility of implementing the Noor Dubai agenda in collaboration with Orbis International as well as Lions Clubs International.

Noor Dubai features therapeutic, preventive, and education programmes. The three components will jointly seek to treat and prevent blindness and visual impairment in the UAE and developing countries on a regional and international scale.
 
To date, Noor Dubai has reached out to people in a number of countries including Iraq, Afghanistan, Mali, Sri Lanka, Syria, Lebanon, Sudan, Somalia, Djibouti, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Egypt, Jordan and Palestine as well as the UAE. - TradeArabia News Service