Pakistan is on the brink of an eye health crisis, with its population ranking fifth globally. As the population is expected to double by 2050 without proper health interventions, the country is seeing an alarming rise in eye problems, according to the Private Hospital in Pakistan.
Major Gen (Retd) Rehmat Khan, while speaking to the media, highlighted that approximately 4% of the world’s blind population lives in Pakistan. Currently, around 1.8 million Pakistanis are blind, and 21 million people are suffering from vision loss due to common eye conditions such as cataracts, refractive errors, and glaucoma.
He stressed that Pakistan’s rapidly increasing population, which could reach 500 million by 2050, will severely strain the country’s infrastructure, especially healthcare services. The Major General urged the government to launch an ambitious plan to establish eye hospitals in every tehsil, enabling access to affordable eye care.
Eye care facilities are scarce in rural areas, where poverty and lack of awareness prevent many people from seeking medical treatment. Most ophthalmologists are based in urban centers, leaving rural populations, especially women, children, and the elderly, vulnerable to untreated eye conditions.
Pakistan, like many developing countries, faces a significant burden from vision impairment, exacerbated by an ageing population and a rise in diabetes cases. Although progress has been made, much more needs to be done to address the increasing eye care needs.
In conclusion, Major Gen (Retd) Rehmat Khan called for the government to mobilize resources to establish state-run eye hospitals across Pakistan.
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