In these camps, the prominent eye surgeons and specialists undertake laser eye surgeries/operations and approximately 100,000 patients' surgeries were done in free camps. The one of the largest Baba Farid Free Eye Camp will be organized at Pak Pattan from 9th to 15th November with a targeted 3,000 Phaco surgeries. Last year some 2,600 surgeries were done in a week.
Chairman Haji Razzak Janoo Memorial Trust and former chairman Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) Abdul Rahim Janoo said that all the medicines and food to the patients and their attendants are being provided "free of cost" by his trust. The camps are being setup with an aim to provide latest facilities to less-privileged people of remote areas because they cannot bear the huge expense of such facilities at the modern hospitals.
The trust has organized 252nd a free eye camp at Dadu in February 2017, wherein 4,000 patients were attended in free OPDs and prominent eye surgeons and specialists had undertaken 500 latest laser eye operations. He informed that another free eye camp would be held at Rajanpur from 26th to 28th December, 2017, while another camp would be held at Bahawal Nagar in 2017. First camp of 2018 will be held in January in Dadu, he added.
This year, some 100 volunteers including 10 surgeons will perform duties at the Baba Farid Eye Camp where operations of 3,000 patients are expected. Janoo said that eye camps began in 1989 and since then total 252 free eye camps have been arranged in different location and approximately some 2.5 million patients were treated and some 0.1 million surgeries were done at these free eye camps.
He said that all expenses of these free eye camps are borne by Haji Razak Janoo Memorial Trust, being owned and run by Janoo family in memory of Haji Razzak Janoo, who also suffered this disease and promised to work for eye patients. He said that Muhammad Mian Soomro former Chairman Senate, Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali (the then Prime Minister), Rafique Suleman, chairman REAP and several other respected dignities have provided moral support to the volunteers of eye camps during their tenures.
"We have adopted Free Eye Camping as a mission to help restore the lost vision of poor eye patients through treatments, surgeries, medication, lenses, spectacles and all such related services and materials absolutely free of cost", he mentioned. Janoo said that this year, for the first time, foldable lenses will be used for the treatment and surgeries. Although it is very expansive, however, we have decided to use it as it is the latest technology, he said, adding that several eye camps were also arranged in Bangladesh, however; due to their anti-Pakistan campaign, now camps are not being setup there.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2017