The Ministry of Public Health, in cooperation with Hamad Medical Corporation and the Primary Health Care Corporation, celebrates the World Glaucoma Week, which takes place from 12-18 March under the slogan "The world is bright.. protect your eyesight". Glaucoma, or what is known as “blue water”, is an eye disease, and it is the second largest cause of blindness globally for people aged fifty or over. Dr. Kholoud Al-Mutawa, Head of the Non-Communicable Diseases Department at the Ministry of Public Health, said that the State of Qatar joins the countries of the world in celebrating World Glaucoma Week in March of each year, with the aim of shedding more light on this disease and inviting the target age group for eye examinations and the need to see an ophthalmologist for examinations. This helps in the early detection of this disease, which may cause gradual loss of vision without warning signs. Therefore, glaucoma is called the silent disease or the thief of sight. For her part, Dr. Badriya Al-Malki, National Coordinator for Blindness Control, Assistant Executive Director of Continuing Care and Integrated Services at the Primary Health Care Corporation, said that glaucoma is one of the most important blinding diseases in the world, with more than 80 million people infected with it. She pointed out that the Primary Health Care Corporation was able, through the eye clinics in the health centers, to detect and treat many cases of glaucoma that were referred by the family doctor or the general practitioner to ophthalmologists. In turn, Dr. Zakia Al-Ansari, Consultant Ophthalmologist and Head of the Glaucoma Unit at Hamad Medical Corporation, said that a defect in the drainage of aqueous fluid from the eye is one of the most important causes of glaucoma, and that high or irregular pressure inside the eye is a major factor in the disease, which leads to Damage to the optic nerve tissue and a gradual decline in the visual field, which may lead to blindness if it is not detected early. She added that the ophthalmology department at Hamad Medical Corporation participates in the celebration of the World Week of Glaucoma, by carrying out community awareness activities that will be held this year in Souq Waqif on the 17th of March, which includes free eye examinations for the general public and the dissemination of awareness messages about glaucoma by doctors from the department. Oyoun at the Hamad Foundation. The glaucoma patient does not realize that he has the disease until it causes him permanent damage to the optic nerve responsible for transmitting the image to the brain, as the eye loses the ability to see completely. The Primary Health Care Corporation confirms that glaucoma is the number one cause of blindness in the State of Qatar, and that the age groups most at risk of contracting the disease are people over the age of forty or those who have relatives (from the father’s or mother’s side) who have the disease. Statistics of the Primary Health Care Corporation showed that its health centers examine 63,000 patients annually to detect glaucoma, of which 1,000 cases are detected. The Foundation owns 18 eye clinics in 18 health centers, in addition to 4 other centers that provide eye services on Saturdays of each week to receive and treat urgent cases. The Primary Health Care Corporation, in cooperation with the Ministry of Public Health, is also working on conducting a national survey to find out the causes of visual impairment and blindness for those over fifty, including glaucoma patients.
