Qadhi Saeed Al Murooshid, Director General of the Dubai Health Authority and CEO of the Noor Dubai initiative, announced recently the final results which Noor Dubai was able to achieve since it was first launched on the 1^st of September, 2008.

The launch of this initiative marked a global humanitarian initiative undertaken by Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai HH Shaikhh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The initiative stemmed from his belief of equality between all classes of society and their equal rights in receiving medical care.

Al Murooshid said: ‘Noor Dubai is one of the greatest initiatives undertaken by His Highness Shaikhh Mohamed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. From the beginning, its goals were crystal clear, as the initiative aimed at providing health care and medical services for more than 1 million blind patients. Also Noor Dubai provided treatment and protection programs by establishing medical camps to ensure that blind patients and those with eye-related diseases receive the proper treatment, which was established in cooperation with multinational institutions and related organizations’.

He added: ‘We are very glad that we have been able to surpass our target of reaching out to 1 million people. So far 5, 486,630 million people have benefitted from Noor Dubai through its treatment and prevention initiatives. We are truly thankful to His Highness Shaikhh Mohammed for his vision and support’.

‘Through this initiative we have been able, to help as millions of people to return to their normal lives, after a disability that hindered them. Also, we were able to help disabled children who were unable to go to their schools to return to their studies, and through this project the elderly patients have been able to take up a job and earn a livelihood. Today, all these people have become active members in the society. Now, they are considered to be an additional strength to the economic forces of their countries’.

Al Murooshid stressed on the success of the initiative saying: ‘Today we exceeded our target, and we have been able to reach out to millions of people who were blind or suffered from other eye-related diseases. This success was achieved through medical camps organized by the initiative in the region and other countries, including: Pakistan, Sudan, Yemen, Chad, Niger, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Uganda and Cameroon’.

Noor Dubai managed to cure 14.000 patients in Bangladesh, 14,724 in Pakistan where more than 1000 operations took place during the first week of the initiative. In Yemen, 1300 cataract cases were treated and 11 cases were cured from blindness. In addition to, 1300 cases in Niger and 30.616 in Sudan.

A major focus of the treatment and prevention activities were undertaken in the African continent, where 37 million are suffering from river blindness disease. Noor Dubai focused on providing its services in Africa, especially to remote and poor areas, where 2,33,970 cases were cured in Ethiopia, 1,162,669 in Uganda, 11,000 in Chad, 3,100,000 in Mali and 8,84,732 in Cameroon.

Noor Dubai successfully accomplished a significant achievement in providing health care services to cases suffering from blindness and eye-related diseases. Noticeably, the initiative services were not offered in specific country or region, rather they were extended to various countries where it was able to spread the light of vision.

The Noor Dubai initiative is in the process of being transformed into a permanent organization and this has become possible thanks to the generosity and directives of His Highness Shaikhh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai,

HH Shaikhh Mohammad recently met with the Noor Dubai team headed by His Excellency Qadhi Saeed Al Muroshid, Director General of the Dubai Health Authority and CEO of Noor Dubai initiative and expressed his decision to transform the initiative into a foundation.

The very recent development, which took place on June 6^th 2009, allows the Noor Dubai initiative to take on a more permanent role in its effort to carry on the fight against preventable blindness.

Based on Shaikhh Mohammed’s directives, the Noor Dubai Foundation will have complete financial and administrative independence and will continue its work as a charitable and humanitarian institution.

• UAE