Free eye surgeries for 15 poor people were performed by Health Minister Dr Hassan Qazizadeh Hashemi during his visit to Dehloran County, in northwest Ilam Province, on Thursday.
The surgeries were performed in mobile clinics established in Dasht-e-Abbas village in the largely Kurdish county by the Nooravaran-e-Salamat Charity Foundation.
“The charity’s teams of physicians, dentists and specialists provide dental and eye care services to 30 and 60 people respectively every day,” in the region, said Dr Shahriar Rasouli, head of Dehloran Health and Treatment Office.
“In the past three months, 3,343 people received dental treatment and among the 6,250 people examined for vision care, 310 received free eye surgeries,” he said,” IRNA reported.
A total of 2,320 spectacles were also provided free-of-charge.
Last December, the health minister performed 12 free eye surgeries on poor patients in the charity’s mobile clinics in Qasre Qand County in Sistan-Baluchestan Province. The charity was established in 2005.
Amir Hossein Jafari, executive director of the foundation, said since its founding, it has conducted 6,000 free eye surgeries in 22 provinces.
The foundation based in Tehran works closely with various organizations including Center for Development of Rural and Deprived Regions in Iran (affiliated to the President’s Office) and the Health Ministry. It also has 13 sponsors (producers of medical equipment and importers) who offer discounts in surgical instruments, spectacle frames and lenses, as well as intraocular lenses.
New Health Projects
During his two-day visit to Ilam, Hashemi inaugurated a CT Scan and Digital Radiography Ward in Shohada-e-Dehloran Hospital located in Dehloran.
He said 14 specialists at the hospital offer high-quality services to people living in the area, so that they don’t need “to travel far away to seek treatment and healthcare.”
Nearly $12 million (450 billion rials) was spent on the newly-opened ward and provision of medical equipment.
In the 2006 census, Dehloran’s population was around 28,000. The city lies near the Iraqi border.
Add new comment
Read our comment policy before posting your viewpoints