- Performs 6,000 free surgeries monthly, a service valued at Rs300 million
- High treatment costs hinder fight against blindness
ISLAMABAD: Al-Shifa Trust (AST) announced on Tuesday that, although Pakistan has made significant strides in expanding cataract treatment services, considerable gaps still remain, particularly in rural and underserved areas.
The national cataract surgical rate has improved significantly, reaching 5,307 surgeries per million people, more than double the rate in 2002. Still, Prof. Dr. Sabihuddin Ahmed, head of the Cataract Department at Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital in Rawalpindi, said it is insufficient to meet the current demand.
Talking to the media, he emphasized that achieving the projected demand by 2030 necessitates performing at least 1.84 million cataract surgeries each year, as the backlog of untreated cases runs in the millions.
He said that the private sector performs 42.4 percent of cataract surgeries in Pakistan, NGOs perform 39.9 percent, and the government sector performs 17.7 percent. This indicates a significant gap in public healthcare provision.
He attributed the problem to factors such as cost barriers, diabetes, ageing, lack of awareness, malnutrition, prolonged exposure to ultraviolet rays, genetic predispositions, and late diagnosis.
He said cataract surgical services are predominantly available in urban areas, leaving many rural areas underserved. Also, there is a significant mismatch in the distribution of ophthalmologists, with many rural areas lacking access to qualified eye care professionals.
Moreover, he said that the cost of surgery is a barrier for many low-income people to access eye care services, particularly among women, rural residents, and the uneducated population.
He said that many public hospitals face challenges such as outdated equipment, long waiting lists, and insufficient resources, which hinder the delivery of timely and effective cataract treatment.
Prof. Dr Sabihuddin Ahmed said that with the help of generous donors, AST doctors perform almost 6,000 free-of-cost cataract surgeries per month at their six hospitals.
The cost of cataract surgery and related expenses in many private hospitals ranges from Rs 40,000 to Rs 100,000. Suppose the average price of a surgery is Rs 50,000. In that case, AST provides a monthly relief of Rs 30 crore to needy people.
He informed that, despite having dedicated staff and state-of-the-art facilities, long queues of patients could be seen awaiting free cataract surgery, as the current facilities are insufficient.
He said nearly 80 percent of patients receive free treatment in all trust-run hospitals in Rawalpindi, Chakwal, Kohat, Sukkur, Muzaffarabad, and Gilgit, while a hospital in Lahore will open by 2027 and provide services to almost 20 million people.