75 patients benefit from free cataract surgery in Zaria

The Charity to Gheer Foundation in collaboration with Premium Pension Limited has provided free cataract surgery for 75 beneficiaries, mostly the aged and less privilege in Zaria, Kaduna State.

President of the foundation, Hajiya Maryam Mohammed, said at the opening ceremony that the beneficiaries were mostly senior citizens who could not afford the cost of cataract surgery at a health facility.

She said though 45 people had benefitted from the exercise in December last year, the number increased due to the support from Premium Pensions Limited, stressing that the foundation would strengthen its collaboration with key stakeholders to up-scale the programme.

In his remarks, the Head Business Development of Premium Pensions, Ismail Abdussalam, said the support was a nation-wide intervention as part of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility.

The Chief Optician Gambo Sawaba General Hospital, Bitrus Dauda, commended the foundation for choosing the facility for the programme, adding that the hospital conducts cataract surgeries twice a week with an average of over 120 surgeries every month.

Also speaking, Consultant Ophthalmologist at the ABU Teaching Hospital, Dr Faruk Garba, said with improved equipment at the facility, the team could do more surgeries. Dr. Garba, who is also the head of surgical team, said the state government had subsidised cataract surgery at the hospital, adding that patients are to pay N17,500 against between N100,000 to N600,000 in some private hospitals.