Qatar Red Crescent Society in Mauritania to perform life-saving eye surgeries

MAURITANIA – The Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS), has launched a one of kind and ambitious eye surgery convoy in the West African Nation of Mauritania.

The project led by QRCS plans to perform 2,000 eye surgeries and 6000 eye healthcare examinations, in an effort to combat eye diseases in the six-month program.

The program has been sponsored by the Education Above All (EAA) and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) to the tune of US$146,000.

The initiative will also see the participation of the National Program for Blindness Control, a segment of Mauritania’s Ministry of Health (MoH), and the Hamad bin Khalifa Hospital in Boutilimit, operating under the aegis of QRCS.

This period will see a series of medical and surgical teams making their way to various Mauritanian regions where the teams aim to diagnose patients battling eye diseases, with a specific focus on performing cataract surgeries.

The program is structured in eight distinct phases primarily catering to remote and impoverished communities of Mauritania that have limited access to healthcare.

The project aims to serve the regions of Brakna, Hodh Al-Gharbi, Guidimaka, Trarza, Assaba, Tagant, and Gorgol.

Phase 1 occurred in the department of Sélibaby, Guidimaka where a team comprising five ophthalmologists and nine assistants, armed with essential medical equipment, consumables, and medicines, facilitated the inaugural phase surgical drive. 

In total, 259 cataract surgeries and 869 medical examinations were performed, offering a new lease of life to the elderly and financially disadvantaged, and preventing potential blindness.

As the QRCS initiative gains momentum, plans for Phase 2 are underway that will be executed in the department of Bogué, Brakna, the upcoming phase will endeavor to conduct 250 surgeries and 900 medical examinations within a week.

Dr. Mohamed Ould Andari, ophthalmologist and ophthalmic surgeon, said the medical convoy was intended to help poor patients, by providing them with treatment, given the fact that they could not afford to pay for the costs of surgical interventions, as well as the local hospital’s severe shortage of eye treatment resources.

Working in tandem to bring relief to the harshest humanitarian settings

The Hamad bin Khalifa Hospital was established in 2007, under the supervision of, and with support from EAA, which seeks to change the world by providing education opportunities for marginalized children and youths.

The hospital pursues a strategic goal of providing high-quality health care at affordable prices, for the poor locals to avoid the need to travel for treatment in Nouakchott or abroad.

The main partner in the mission, the QRCS is Qatar’s first humanitarian and volunteering organization that aims to assist and empower vulnerable individuals and communities without partiality or discrimination. 

QRCS is a member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, which consists of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and 192 National Societies. 

It is also a member of several GCC, Arab, and Islamic organizations, such as the Islamic Committee of International Crescent (ICIC) and the Arab Red Crescent and Red Cross Organization (ARCO). 

In this legally recognized capacity, QRCS has access to disaster and conflict zones, thus serving as an auxiliary to the State of Qatar in its humanitarian and social efforts, a role that distinguishes it from other local charities and NGOs.

Both locally and internationally, QRCS has relief and development operations in numerous countries throughout the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Europe, and Central and South America. 

Its humanitarian mandates include disaster preparedness, response, recovery, and risk reduction.

To mitigate the impact of disasters and improve the livelihoods of affected populations, QRCS provides medical services, food, water, shelter, and other needs of local communities, and its also active on the humanitarian diplomacy and advocacy front.

With the help of a vast network of trained, committed staff and volunteers, QRCS aspires to improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity, inspired by the seven Fundamental Principles of humanitarian action: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity, and universality.

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