Saudi Humanitarian Initiative Delivers Free Eye Care to Over 4,000 Lagos Residents

Over 4,000 residents of Lagos State have received free eye care services through the “Saudi Noor” ophthalmic volunteer programme, an initiative of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief).

Speaking on Thursday, Mohammed Alsahabi, the Saudi Press Attaché in Nigeria, said the programme reflects the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s ongoing commitment to delivering essential healthcare support to underserved communities around the world.

Alsahabi, at the intervention held at Gbagada General Hospital in Lagos, emphasised that the initiative is a significant step in the kingdom’s ongoing support for preventive eye care in Nigeria.

He added that the Lagos phase of the initiative brought essential ophthalmologic services to the people.

According to him, beneficiaries at Gbagada General Hospital will receive comprehensive eye care services, including eye screening and cataract surgeries with Intraocular Lens (IOL) implants.

He further said that beneficiaries would receive correction of refractive errors and prescription eyeglasses.

The attaché disclosed that the initiative was executed under the directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques — King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

He added that “it forms core component of KSrelief’s broader mandate to provide relief to communities facing healthcare challenges.”

Alsahabi noted that since the inauguration of the blindness prevention campaign in Nigeria in 2019, KSrelief conducted more than 218,000 eye examinations.

He said “more than 21,000 patients have regained their sight through surgical interventions and over 45,000 eyeglasses distributed, transforming lives and restoring hopes.”

He noted that the initiative, recently implemented in Yobe, Kano and Bauchi states, brought relief to thousands in the northern region.

“KSrelief’s efforts in Lagos signifies growing recognition of the urban-rural healthcare divide and the need to address eye health challenges even within densely populated city centres.

“Gbagada General Hospital, a major referral facility in Lagos, now becomes a vital hub for this life-changing outreach.

“With this latest effort in Lagos, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia reinforces its relationship with Nigeria, dedication to humanitarian health missions and its solidarity with Nigeria’s efforts to combat preventable blindness,” he said.

A beneficiary of the intervention, Imam Yahaya Atederui, who is the Chief Imam of Al-Muftiham Mosque in Mushin, Lagos, commended Saudi Arabia “for the magnanimity in alleviating sufferings and preventing blindness in Nigeria.”

Atederui, who benefitted from cataract surgery, praised the medical technique and precision,
saying it was painless and fast.

Similarly, Mr Yusuf Adebeshin, a civil servant, also lauded the Saudi Arabian Kingdom “for providing much-needed relief to many residents of Lagos.

“I benefited from free surgical procedure on my right eye in January and required surgery for my left eye months later to clear my sight.

“The private hospital I visited charged me over N1 million, as a civil servant, where will I get that kind of fund? that’s why I’m so grateful for the free humanitarian efforts of the Saudi Arabian Kingdom.”

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that globally, KSrelief remained steadfast in its commitment to humanitarian excellence and had executed over 3400 relief projects in more than 107 countries since its establishment in 2015. 

NAN