In a move to accelerate access to visual healthcare, wife of the president, Mrs. Aisha Muhammadu Buhari has, through the Aisha Buhari Foundation secured partnership with a UAE based Noor Dubai Foundation to launch a four-year eye treatment and prevention programme in Nigeria.
The partnership was sealed at Dubai (UAE) before officials of the Foundation and Dubai Health Authority, with Mrs. Buhari representing her Foundation and Humaid Al Qutami representing Noor Dubai Foundation.
Mrs. Buhari’s regular health screening exercises conducted by Her Future Assured Programme across the country provides checks for visual acuity, referral and glasses where necessary, with an average 2000 glasses provided for each outing and many Nigerians who could not afford glasses and could have lost their eyesight, have been salvaged.
She stated that this initiative will expand the number of beneficiaries and change many lives in Nigeria.
Mrs. Buhari expressed happiness over the partnership, because, as she said, it will directly impact on Nigerian government’s strategy on visual impairment.
Chairman of the Board and Director General of the Dubai Health Authority, and Chairman of Noor Dubai Foundation, Humaid Al Qutami, said that the foundation has so far benefited 25 million people around the world through its humanitarian and medical preventive and treatment programmes since its inception in 2008. He added that by expanding their reach in Nigeria, “Noor Dubai Foundation has proven to be one of the world’s leading philanthropic foundations in the field of visual impairment through providing treatment and prevention services that are based on state-of-the-art technology and international standards”.
Dubai Noor Foundation was recently in Kaduna where they screened 5000 patients, gave glasses to 1200 and conducted surgery for over 470 people.
Al Qutami announced that the implementation of the first medical programme specializing in eye diseases in Nigeria will begin next year.
As part of the programme, Noor Dubai Foundation aims to conduct more than 18 thousand eye surgeries, screen more than 70,000 people suspected to suffer from eye disease and 4000 who suffer from visual impairment and raise awareness about ocular impartment diseases and prevention among more than 1.5 million Nigerians.
Suleiman Haruna
Director of Information
to Wife of the President
State House
Abuja
