Peshawar: A ceremony was organized at the Ophthalmology Department of Peshawar Medical College (PMC) on completion of free corneal transplants for 200 people, with the Chief Secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Shahab Ali Shah as the special guest.
Addressing the ceremony, Principal Peshawar Medical College Professor Dr. Hafeez-ur-Rehman said that this project, which costs Rs 120 million, has been completed with the support of APPNA (an organization of Pakistani doctors based in the United States).
The two hundred deserving beneficiaries of this project belonged not only to remote areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, but also benefited the deserving people of Gilgit-Baltistan, where 28 people underwent corneal transplants in a single day, which is a record.
All these people were visually impaired and were made able to see anew. He specially praised the head of the team, Professor Dr. Mir Ali Shah, in this regard.
Other members of the team include Associate Professor Dr. Faisal Nawaz, Assistant Professor Dr. Munam, Assistant Professor Dr. Usman and Senior Registrar Dr. Zaheeruddin Babar.
It was also informed that this work is still ongoing and will be continued in future as well. Professor Dr. Hafeez-ur-Rehman said that the second important work being done in the ophthalmology department of PMC is free cataract surgeries for deserving people within the college and its affiliated hospitals, and this process has been going on since 2007.
For some time, the health card facility was available for this, but after this facility was abolished in the entire province, Al-Khidmat Foundation Pakistan extended its support.
He said that one thousand surgeries were planned under this project, out of which more than two crore rupees have been spent on the treatment of 870 patients so far, while this process will continue in the future.
Chief Secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Shahab Ali Shah, in his address, appreciated the efforts of the Peshawar Medical College and its ophthalmology department team and said that he would make every effort to contribute to this good deed on behalf of the provincial government.
He also said that the restoration of the health card facility that has been disconnected in this regard will also be reviewed. He also appreciated the services of Peshawar Medical College in polio vaccination, especially in Waziristan and other areas of the southern districts.
At the end of the ceremony, the chief guest gave shields and certificates of merit to the doctors and other relevant staff of the team and the college presented the college shield to the chief guest.
