Noor Dubai has resumed its humanitarian activities in Nepal by conducting an eye camp to screen and treat eye diseases, primarily Cataract.

The UAE-based NGO launched the seven-day eye camp on the 16th of September in partnership with the Nepal Netra Joyti Sang hospital.

According to the available data, Nepal was one of the first countries to conduct a nationwide eye and vision survey back in 1980 and conducted another one in 2012 following the Rapid assessment for avoidable blindness guidelines from the WHO, which looks at the causes and prevalence of visual impairment in people over 50 years of age.

The survey concluded that most visual impairment was due to Cataract, a physiological aging process that affects the eye's lens and can be easily treated with a minor surgical procedure. Cataract accounted for 62.2% of visual impairment in the elderly population, with the majority (around 80%) being treatable. Most patients in the survey reported that they’ve reached the level of blindness as they couldn’t afford the treatment despite the availability of good quality health care services.

The second most common cause of visual impairment in adults was Retinal disorders accounting for around 16.5% of all visual impairment.

Fourteen eye screening campaigns were conducted prior to the camp, all in different parts of the Suryodaya municipality of Ilam district of Province 1 of the country. A total of 1643 people attended the outpatient clinics, and a total of 183 patients underwent cataract surgery.