RAWALPINDI: The Al-Shifa Trust has decided to add surgical units to its free eye camps organised all over the country, especially in far-flung areas. The decision was taken to operate the cataract patients at their doorstep to save them from travelling to the hospitals which will save their time and money. A cataract is a clouding of the eye’s natural lens, which lies behind the iris and the pupil. Cataracts are the most common cause of vision loss in people over age 40 and are the principal cause of blindness in the world, said Lt Gen (r) Hamid Javed, the president of the trust. While briefing reporters about the new initiative taken to eradicate blindness, he said that the surgical units would comprise experienced doctors, paramedics, equipment, medicines and glasses. “The surgical teams will use the existing facilities of basic health units and other medical facilities in the respective areas to conduct the procedures,” he added. He said that with the initiative, around 5,000 cataract surgeries would be possible annually. “All the arrangements in this connection have been finalised and surgeries will start soon after Eid,” he said, adding that the expenses of the new initiative would be met through donations from contributors. He said that the trust aimed at delivering quality eye care facilities to the people in the rural and underserved areas. Lt Col (r) Tariq Usman, the general manager of Al-Shifa Centre for Community Opthamology, also spoke on the occasion. He said that free eye camps were arranged in the remote areas where the patients had no access to hospitals and they lacked recourses to afford quality medical facilities. “The trust has the capacity to establish 15-18 eye screening camps in a month. School screening teams will also perform surgeries,” he said. Al-Shifa Centre for Community Ophthalmology runs one of the largest outreach programmes for the prevention of blindness in country. Their free eye camps include free eye examination, diagnosis of diseases, evaluation of refractive errors, distribution of free medicines, provision of free glasses and free eye surgeries.