ORBIS Invited to Play Key Role

HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Ruler of Dubai

ORBIS International is set to play a major role in a new blindness prevention initiative launched on September 3 by His Highness Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai.

Under the name “Noor Dubai,” the initiative aims to help the World Health Organization and International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness achieve the goals outlined in VISION 2020: The Right to Sight. Noor Dubai intends to do this by providing eye health services to one million people suffering from treatable blindness and visual impairment in developing countries on local, regional and international levels.

“ORBIS unreservedly supports the Noor Dubai initiative and is grateful to participate at the invitation of His Highness Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum,” said ORBIS Executive Director and CEO Geoffrey Holland. “The Flying Eye Hospitalis available to work in all Middle Eastern and North African countries, and our experience in delivering blindness prevention projects is fully at the disposal of Noor Dubai.”

Announcement coincides with commencement of Ramadan

The Noor Dubai initiative was announced by His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, chairman of Dubai Event Management Corporation, in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The event was timed to mark the start of the holy month of Ramadan.

Speaking on behalf of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed, His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed said, “Ramadan is indeed a month of generosity, charity and compassion. The people of the UAE have a long tradition of giving, particularly during this holy period when they earnestly seek to be closer to God.”

Offering Noor Dubai as a gift from the UAE to the world, His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid said, “Let us all come together to collectively work to ensure Noor Dubai becomes a catalyst towards a bigger international commitment to cure eye diseases and protect children from preventable forms of blindness.”

Dubai Health Authority will be in charge of implementing the Noor Dubai agenda in collaboration with ORBIS as well as Lions Clubs International. Noor Dubai plans to offer assistance to the people of Iraq, Afghanistan, Mali, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Egypt, Jordan and Palestine as well as the UAE. The organization will concentrate on cataract, strabismus and corneal opacities.

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