National Programs

Mobile Eye Clinic

In 2014, Noor Dubai Foundation launched the Mobile Eye Clinic, a local outreach program in the UAE that aims to provide free eye screenings to patients at their locations allowing for early detection and intervention to prevent visual impairment. The fully-fledged bus is outfitted with state-of-the-art exam rooms and dispensaries and travels around different communities across the UAE. The clinic was designed based on top quality standards to ensure the health and safety of employees and patients. The Mobile Eye Clinic has succeeded in providing best practices at the national level leading to it winning the first place for the Dubai Government Excellence Award for 2016, making Noor Dubai the first non-governmental organization to receive this award by the Government of Dubai.

In 2018, mobile eye screening improved its services with additional tests to detect Glaucoma- an irreversible blinding eye disease. Two equipment were added to measure intraocular pressure using non-contact tonometry and visual field using a fast, reliable and portable Humphrey visual field machine.

UAE Treatment Program

The UAE treatment program is one of Noor Dubai’s national outreach programs aimed to help treat UAE residents with limited financial capability and who are suffering from critical eye diseases. The program aims to reduce the possibility of visual impairment due to delayed access to appropriate treatment or inability to afford treatment. The program includes treatment of diabetic retinopathy, cataract surgeries, or any eye injuries.

International Programs

Mobile Eye Camps

Noor Dubai Foundation conducts Mobile Eye Camps in remote areas in developing countries across Asia and Africa, where due to the absence of healthcare infrastructure, extreme poverty, and lack of resources the communities have no access to adequate eye care services. The activities in the camp include screening and providing diagnosis and health care, conducting surgeries, and distributing spectacles during each camp.

To date, Noor Dubai Foundation has organized camps in 32 cities in 17 countries where 263,438 individuals have been screened, 26,600 surgeries have been performed and 62,034 glasses provided.

On average, the camp lasts for 5 days where an average around 5000 patients are screened and provided diagnosis, around 500 surgeries are conducted and, around 1000 glasses are distributed per camp.

Providing the appropriate treatment, to those individuals in needs, results in a significant positive impact on the communities in these areas. The impact is seen on a personal level for those individuals receiving treatment in addition to an improved economic state for the whole community as these individuals are able to get back to their jobs and lives, leading to an improved social and economic condition.

Trachoma Elimination Program

In collaboration with The Carter Center, Noor Dubai Foundation is committed to the elimination of blinding trachoma in one of the most trachoma-endemic regions known in the world, the Amhara region of Ethiopia. Trachoma is the leading cause of infectious blindness worldwide, with 232 million people at risk for trachoma in Africa and Asia, and over 4 million at immediate risk for blindness from carrying the disease. Children are the main reservoir of infection in addition to women, who are often responsible for the care of children, therefore are more susceptible to infection and tend to go blind from the disease at nearly twice the rate of men.

Trachoma control is critical for the immediate relief of human suffering, as well as economic development. Prevention and treatment are simple and cost-effective. Through Noor Dubai Foundation’s partnership with the Carter Center, the Ethiopian Ministry of Health will be able implement the World Health Organization (WHO)-recommended SAFE strategy for trachoma control:

Objectives:

Barisal Eye Care Program

In 2021, Noor Dubai launched a 5-year program in partnership with the Fred Hollows Foundation, to reduce avoidable blindness through strengthening the eye healthcare system to deliver a more comprehensive and sustainable approach in addition to delivering gender equitable and disability inclusive eye care services in the Barisal division of Bangladesh. The program focuses on providing effective and affordable prevention, treatment and management of refractive error and diabetic retinopathy, the leading causes of blindness in Barisal, through providing specialized medical services and eye health awareness sessions. The program also aims to promote gender equality through establishing 2 women-led eye care enterprises, which will offer basic eye care services to local community members especially Refractive Error and generate income for the women. This will address visual impairment in the community and poverty among women.

Expected Beneficiaries (2021 – 2025):

Eye Health Research

Dubai Visual Impairment Survey

As of current, the data regarding visual impairment in Dubai is not population-based from a survey. The only data available is hospital-based which is not representative of the whole population.

Noor Dubai Foundation, Dubai Health Authority and the Dubai Statistics Centre in addition to Medcare Hospital and AlZahra will be conducting the first population based visual Impairment Survey for the Emirate of Dubai starting December 2019.

The purpose of this project is to generate data on the magnitude and causes of visual impairment in persons 40 years and older in the emirate of Dubai. This information is crucial for the strategic development of eye healthcare in Dubai as it will be used to assess the general condition of eye health in the emirate. It will also provide relevant information needed to plan future projects that will affect the local economy.

Stakeholders

Noor Dubai Foundation – Project Owner

Dubai Health Authority – Main Partner

Dubai Statistics Center – Partner

Centre of Eye Research Australia – Data Analysers

Medcare Eye Centre – Partner

AlZahra Hospital – Partner

Rivoli Group – Supporter

Eye Care Program in Nigeria

The Program

Katsina state has over 25,000 blind people and another 100,000 people with some visual loss. However, there are only 4 ophthalmologists to cater for this population. Resulting in only about 10% -15% of eye care services are being covered in the state.

In line with Noor Dubai Foundation’s new strategic plan, we have set up a 4-year integrated and sustainable comprehensive eye care program in partnership with Katsina state government. We aim to improve the quality of life and socioeconomic status through improved access to quality eye care. Noor Dubai Foundation have also officially set up a Nigerian office in Katsina