Karachi: Standard Chartered’s Group Head of Human Resources and Communications, Tracy Clarke, recently paid a visit to Layton Rahmatulla Benevolent Trust Eye Hospital (LRBT), one of the country’s largest non-governmental organizations.
Tracy was taken on a tour by LRBT CEO Saqib Hameed where she witnessed patients being treated and cured for eye-related diseases using state-of-the-art equipment.
LRBT provides free and comprehensive eye-care to poor and underprivileged citizens, and Standard Chartered partners with the hospital as part of Seeing is Believing – the Bank’s global programme to help combat preventable and curable blindness. Its recent joint efforts include vision screenings for 800 underprivileged children across Pakistan in conjunction with World Sight Day celebration.
LRBT CEO Saqib Hameed said: “This high level visit certainly bodes well for our shared goal to help restore sights. It’s been a very rewarding partnership. We have worked together for about eight years now and our eye screening project is so important to make sure that our future generations are not afflicted by eye problems that could hamper their growth. Standard Chartered has been instrumental in this collaboration and it has been a pleasure to have worked together.”
Commenting on her visit, Tracy said: “Large corporations can help fight avoidable blindness by playing to their strengths, which include raising funds and staff volunteering. I’m very proud that Standard Chartered has played a significant role in supporting the hospital using our staff, networks and connections. What impresses me more than anything else is how efficiently it’s being run, and I’m proud with what we have done in Pakistan for eye care.”
Since the launch of the Seeing is Believing programme in 2004, the Bank has invested approximately PKR200 million (20 Crore) to help alleviate avoidable blindness in Pakistan. It has to date funded some 550,000 cataract operations, contributing to a 20 per cent reduction in the prevalence of cataract blindness in the country.
Approximately 1.5 million people in Pakistan are blind, mainly due to cataract and corneal scarring. However, 80% of blindness and visual impairment is preventable or curable and treatments are simple and cost effective.
LRBT is present in all four provinces of Pakistan, with a network of 17 fully-equipped hospitals, 39 community eye care centers and four outreach clinics. Except for Karachi, Lahore and Quetta, the remaining 13 hospitals are in small towns and rural areas where poverty is greatest and the facilities are poorest. Virtually all Pakistanis are now able to access high-quality, free eye treatment from LRBT Hospitals within 200 kilometres of their residence.
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