Under its medical convoys program, Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) has launched a medical convoy to treat eye diseases in Mauritania, in cooperation with the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and the National Program for Blindness Control of Mauritania's Ministry of Health (MoH).
Operated by QRCS with funding from Education Above All (EAA), the Hamad bin Khalifa Hospital in Boutilimit is deploying successive medical and surgical delegations over six months to examine patients with eye diseases and to perform cataract operations.
The project involves eight phases to cover many vulnerable parts of the country, with a total budget of $146,000. It is planned to perform a total of 2,000 surgeries and 6,000 medical examinations for the poor and remote communities that lack health care services. The target regions are Brakna, Hodh Al-Gharbi, Guidimaka, Trarza, Assaba, Tagant, and Gorgol.
First phase of the medical convoy lasted for one week in the department of Selibaby, Guidimaka. A team of five ophthalmologists and nine assistants traveled to the area, with the medical equipment, consumables, and medicines needed to carry out the surgical campaign.
During the first phase, 259 cataract surgeries and 869 medical examinations were performed for free to save poor and older patients against blindness.
Preparations are currently in progress to launch the second phase, which will be implemented in the department of Bogue, Brakna, to perform 250 surgeries and 900 medical examinations over one week.
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 marginalised children and youths, believing that education is the best way out of poverty, towards just and peaceful communities that unleash the full potential of every child and youth. Education is a fundamental right for all children and one of the key pillars of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
