(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Qatar Red Crescent (QRC) has launched a school health programme to treat eye diseases among schoolchildren in Dhaka, Bangladesh, with a budget of $174,428 (QR634,813) in partnership with Islamic Call Organisation (ICO) and Al Basar International Foundation.
During the eight-month first phase, a medical team visited 60 schools and examined 18,404 students, 41 percent of total 44,895.
Results showed that 2,072 (11.26 percent) needed treatment. A total of 1,295 children received refractive error check-ups, 261 were referred to hospitals, 15 underwent eye surgeries, 525 received glasses and health education brochures were distributed to 114 teachers.
The rate of students with eye problems is high compared to international figures, which affects the vision of schoolchildren and reflects negatively on their academic achievements.
The programme involved selection of target primary schools, training for medics of the foundation responsible for implementation of the programme, choosing teachers for training in measuring vision and detecting eye abnormalities that require referral to hospital, and a specialised course on data entry and statistical analysis using the SPSS software.
The programme is the result of a cooperation agreement signed last November by Saleh bin Ali Al Mohannadi, Secretary-General, QRC, Hammad Abdulqadir, Director-General, ICO, and Dr Adel Abdulaziz Al Rashoud, Secretary-General of the foundation.
The one-year agreement seeks to examine 200,000 students to discover and treat vision problems at specialist hospitals, offering comprehensive treatment, surgeries, medicines, glasses, and other medical care of international standard. It also involves providing health education for students, training teachers in the ways to discover vision disorders early, training technicians and developing a follow-up and evaluation system for the future.
QRC and ICO contributed $50,000 each, and the foundation $74,428 and undertook implementation and securing approvals from authorities, such as the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education, and charitable work regulatory bodies, in coordination with local partners such as Bangladesh Red Crescent.
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