DNA
RAWALPINDI, (Sept. 03)
Doctors have warned that Pakistan is facing a growing epidemic of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), urging the government to introduce mandatory nationwide screening of premature babies to prevent avoidable childhood blindness.
According to the Department of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus at Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital, Rawalpindi, improving neonatal survival rates are increasing the number of infants vulnerable to ROP, a potentially blinding eye disease that affects premature babies.
Doctors said nearly one million babies are born prematurely in Pakistan every year, with an estimated around 300,000 developing varying degrees of ROP, while thousands require delicate sight-saving surgery.
ROP develops because the blood vessels of the retina begin forming about three months after conception and normally complete their development at full-term birth. Premature delivery interrupts this process and may trigger abnormal blood vessel growth that damages the retina, potentially leading to irreversible blindness if left untreated. Infants weighing less than 1.5 kilograms at birth face the highest risk.
Dr. Amjad, a pediatric ophthalmologist and ROP specialist at Al-Shifa Trust, said Pakistan lacks a nationwide screening programme despite the rising number of premature births. He noted that neighboring India had significantly reduced ROP-related blindness after introducing mandatory eye examinations for premature infants before discharge from neonatal intensive care units.
He said treatment requires highly trained pediatric ophthalmologists, specialized anesthesia teams and advanced surgical facilities. Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital is currently the only facility in Pakistan performing these highly delicate ROP surgeries. During the past year, the hospital carried out around 560 surgeries free of cost, although this represents only a small proportion of babies estimated to require treatment.
Doctors said infants born in rural and underserved areas face the greatest risk because few hospitals offer ROP screening or treatment, increasing the likelihood that the narrow treatment window will be missed. They urged the government to make ROP screening mandatory in neonatal intensive care units, expand specialist services and allocate funding to prevent an ROP epidemic from leaving thousands of Pakistani children permanently blind.
