PESHAWAR, Sept 14: The Al Basarat Eye Foundation, in collaboration with the Islamic Relief, UK, organized surgical and medical eye camps in Katlang and adjoining villages in the Mardan district to provide free treatment to needy patients.

A total of 1,992 patients visited the camps set up at the Rural Health Centre (RHC), Katlang, and at basic health units (BHUs) in Ghundo, Babozai, Kohi-Barmol, Dheray, Alo-Qasami, Peepal and Shamozai.

A large number of women also attended the camps. The patients were offered free consultation and treatment and those requiring cataract surgery were operated upon at the RHC in Katlang.

A total of 127 cataract surgeries were performed during the three-day period. Patients who needed major surgery were referred to the eye units at the Khyber Teaching Hospital, Peshawar, and the Mardan Medical Complex in Sheikh Maltoon.

A team of ophthalmologists led by Prof Dr Ziaul Islam, project director of the female campus of Khyber Medical College, and head of the Al Basarat Eye Foundation, offered services at the camps from Sept 8-11.

Others in the team included Dr Bakht Samar Khan, Dr Akbar Shah, Dr Baseer Khan Afridi, Dr Shafqatullah Marwat, Dr Naeem Khan, Dr Mohammad Arshad Raza, Dr Anjum, Dr Amer Zia, Dr Azam and technician Iftikhar.

Mohammad Haroon, an assistant project officer at the Islamabad country office of the Islamic Relief, UK, headed his five-member team at the camp. The Islamic Relief, UK, which is headquartered in Birmingham and has been working world wide since 1984, provided surgical equipment and medicines for the camp.

Last year too, it had assisted the Al Basarat Eye Foundation in organizing a surgical eye camp, which has become an annual event in the Katlang area since 2002. A group of volunteers led by a local journalist mobilized NGOs and social workers in Katlang and other villages to organize the eye camps.

The Zalanda Welfare Organization, Inzargay, the Youth Welfare Organization, Badar Banda, the Khushal Rural Support Programme, Katlang, the Village Razakar Kor, Mian Khan, the Saba organization, Babozai, the Anjuman-i-Naujawanan, Shamozai, and other community groups in Alo-Qasami, Kohi-Barmol, Dheray and Peepal were involved in holding the camps and looking after the needs of patients and doctors.