Giving Sight to the Cataract Blind

Cataract remains the leading cause of blindness worldwide, accounting for nearly half (47.8%) of all blindness cases, equivalent to approximately 17.7 million people affected globally. Pakistan is currently ranked 12th globally in terms of cataract surgical rate (CSR), with a ratio of 5,203 surgeries per million population per year. This places Pakistan as the top country in the Muslim world for CSR. In Pakistan, it is estimated that around 570,000 adults are blind due to cataracts, and approximately 3,560,000 eyes have a visual acuity of less than 6/60 as a result of this condition. Cataract surgery is a highly cost-effective intervention with an excellent prognosis for restoring sight.

One of the significant challenges in providing effective eye care, particularly in low- or middle-income countries like Pakistan, is the limited access to care for individuals residing in remote communities. Many people find it difficult to reach the necessary healthcare facilities. Fatima Memorial Hospital is dedicated to delivering quality healthcare services to all individuals without any discrimination, especially those who cannot afford the required treatment. As a Not-for-Profit trust hospital, FMH has treated over 10 million patients since its establishment in 1977.

To ensure more people receive the necessary treatment, Fatima Memorial Hospital has been organizing medical camps to encourage patients to seek medical attention and undergo check-ups. The influx of patients has experienced a substantial rise following the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, the lack of financial resources the hospital is unable to meet their needs. 

In addition to creating awareness about cataract treatment, Fatima Memorial Hospital is actively providing free treatment to those suffering from this debilitating disease. They aim to support individuals who cannot afford the cost of treatment. The hospital heavily relies on the generosity of donors to sustain their work. These donations serve as a lifeline for those in need. Therefore, the hospital urges people to continue donating to ensure they can be there for individuals who are unable to care for themselves.

Pakistan stands at the 12th spot in the global ranking for cataract surgical rate (CSR) and tops the Muslim world with a ratio of 5,203 per million population per year.

Cataract remains the leading cause of blindness worldwide, accounting for nearly half (47.8 per cent or 17.7 million) of the cases. The treatment is surgical, a highly cost-effective intervention.  Approximately 570 000 adults are estimated to be blind as a result of cataract in Pakistan, and 3,560,000 eyes have a visual acuity of <6/60 because of cataract. Cataract remains the leading cause of blindness worldwide, accounting for nearly half (47.8% or 17.7 million) of all blindness. The treatment for cataract is surgical, a highly costeffective intervention, with excellent prognosis for sight restoration. 

One of the  greatest challenges in delivering effective eye care to people who live in low- or middle-income countries is that those living in more remote communities find it hard to access the care they need. 

Fatima Memorial Hospital is committed to providing quality healthcare services to all without any discrimination for those who can’t afford the treatment. Being a Not-for-Profit trust hospital, FMH has treated more than 10 million patients since the inception in 1977. 

Fatima Memorial Hospital has been setting up camps in order to encourage patients to visit and get themselves checked. With covid19 cases dropped to minimal at the moment, we have a large influx of patients and are unable to cater to their needs due to lack of funds. Our donors play a major part in fulfilling our requirements for these patients.

Fatima Memorial Hospital has also taken the initiative of not only creating awareness about the treatment of cataract but it also provides treatment to those suffering from this painful disease and free of cost to those who cannot afford it.

We rely heavily on the donations from kind people who enable us to continue the work we are doing. This support is their lifeline. Therefore, we urge you to keep donating in order to be there for people who cannot take care of themselves. 

 Thank you.

International Diabetes Federation (IDF) estimates that there are 33 million people living with type 2 diabetes in Pakistan—the third largest diabetes population globally. An additional 11 million adults in Pakistan have impaired glucose tolerance, while approximately 8~9 million people with diabetes remain undiagnosed. Data on long-term complications among people with diabetes in Pakistan are limited. [The Lancet, Volume 10, ISSUE 5, P309-310, May 01, 2022]

We at the Fatima Memorial Hospital has an integrated approach whereby our endocrinology department keeps a close liaison with the Ophthalmology department and refer the patients for regular diagnosis who show the most probable sign of developing cataracts. Till to date Fatima Memorial has spent over Rs. 5.07 billion for providing free or subsidized services to the non-affording patients.

Our Ophthalmology department has an extensive workload and perform cataract surgery on daily. The Department also takes up the activity of creating awareness for the facility as most people arrive very late to the health facility due to their casual attitude or non-affording status.

Unfortunately, Pakistan currency has devalued phenomenally, resulting in very high cost of lens and equipment operating cost. In order to continue this service, we are always dependent on your assistance which will go a long way long way to go and that is only possible when you keep providing us with assistance.

Please be assured that your donations is making a big difference in giving sight to people in need!!

Thank you.

During the last 20 years, incredible progress has been made to strengthen eye health systems in Pakistan through public/private partnerships. Working with international organisations, the national programme for prevention and control of blindness has improved infrastructure, human resources and outreach of eye care services to a great extent. A comprehensive eye care approach that identifies districts as a unit of implementation, while establishing the link between primary and secondary health care, played a key role in this change.

Despite this, it is alarming that public sector share in this extraordinary progress is only one-sixth, which is lower than the contribution made by a single charity organisation. As a whole, four-fifths (82.3 per cent) of the burden is shared by non-governmental organisations and the private sector.

A fifth of the districts couldn’t develop cataract surgical services and do not contribute to the national cataract surgical rate. Half of the districts have a cataract surgical rate lower than 2,000 – this is far below global standards. Additionally, cataract surgical services are restricted to urbanised districts with inequitable resource distribution for eye health. Cataract surgical rate is critically low in the districts where charity hospitals are not operating. This makes cataract surgical services inequitable and inaccessible for poor communities in peripheral districts.

This raises many questions about our health system, that need to be addressed to reduce the current levels of inequality in health care.

Cataract remains the leading cause of blindness worldwide, accounting for nearly half (47.8 per cent or 17.7 million) of the cases. The treatment is surgical, a highly cost-effective intervention.

Fatima Memorial Hospital has been setting up camps in order to encourage patients to visit and get themselves checked. However, during COVID19, it has become immensely hard to set up camps.

The hospital has been actively promoting and encouraging patients to get themselves treated.

With covid19 cases dropped to minimal at the moment, we have a large influx of patients and are unable to cater to their needs to due to lack of funds. Our donors play a major part in fulfilling our requirements for these patients. The Hospital has also taken the initiative of not only creating awareness about the treatment of cataract but it also provides free treatment to those suffering from this painful disease.

The donations coming from you keep us going and without your support, we are not able to cater to this large number of patients. We would like to request our valued donors to continue helping us in order to achieve our targets.

Thank you.

Pakistan stands at the 12th spot in the global ranking for cataract surgical rate (CSR) and tops the Muslim world with a ratio of 5,203 per million population per year.

Cataract remains the leading cause of blindness worldwide, accounting for nearly half (47.8 per cent or 17.7 million) of the cases. The treatment is surgical, a highly cost-effective intervention.

One of the  greatest challenges in delivering effective eye care to people who live in low- or middle-income countries is that those living in more remote communities find it hard to access the care they need. 

Fatima Memorial Hospital has been setting up camps in order to encourage patients to visit and get themselves checked. However, during COVID19, it has become immensely hard to set up camps.

Fatima Memorial Hospital is a Trust and is highly dependent on donations through which it provides healthcare facilities to the needy.

The hospital has been actively promoting and encouraging patients to get themselves treated.

With covid19 cases dropped to minimal at the moment, we have a large influx of patients and are unable to cater to their needs to due to lack of funds. Our donors play a major part in fulfilling our requirements for these patients.

Fatima Memorial Hospital has also taken the initiative of not only creating awareness about the treatment of cataract but it also provides free treatment to those suffering from this painful disease.

As a charitable trust hospital, we are heavily dependent on the assistance of our generous donors who could support it in the pursuit of saving the eyesight of many of the cataract patients.

The donations coming from you keep us going and without your support, we are not able to cater to this large number of patients. We would like to request our valued donors to continue helping us in order to achieve our targets.

Thank you.