THE Noor Dubai Foundation (NDF) from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in cooperation with the nongovernment organization (NGO) Eye hEar Foundation and Department of Health (DOH), recently conducted free cataract surgical caravans in Borongan, Eastern Samar and Catarman, Northern Samar.
Almost 2,000 persons benefited from the program’s activities, which included screening and eye-care diagnosis, 586 cataract surgeries, distribution of 454 eyeglasses, and handing out of medicines during each camp.
Ambassador Mohamed Obaid Salem Alqataam Alzaabi of UAE shared that “with the directives of the [Emirates’ wise leadership, and under Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s global initiatives that give hope for millions of people for a better future,] the UAE has been maintaining strong friendship ties with the Republic of the Philippines, especially in the medical field.”
The envoy expressed the embassy’s gratitude to the foundation “for its great efforts and sustainable charitable program. [We salute them for their project’s immense results in the Philippines. Also, I would like to thank the Philippine government for its great cooperation in this program.”
A UAE-based charity foundation focused on the prevention of blindness and visual impairment globally, the NDF was launched as an initiative in 2008 by UAE’s Vice President-Prime Minister and ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and was later legally established as an NGO in October 2010. Since its inception, it has succeeded in benefitting 33 million people around the world as of 2022 through its treatment, preventive and awareness programs.
From February 17 to 22, 2024, the NDF rolled out its Philippine project’s Phase 2 in Borongan, in cooperation with the DOH provincial office in Eastern Samar. Between November 15 and 22, 2023, the foundation sent its cataract surgical caravan in Catarman jointly with Eye hEar Foundation and DOH-Eastern Visayas.