The Health Services Academy (HSA), in collaboration with the Pakistan Optometric Society (POS), organized a national symposium and awareness walk to highlight the importance of preventing avoidable blindness in Pakistan.
HSA, POS hold World Sight Day symposium
ISLAMABAD, Oct 09 (APP):The Health Services Academy (HSA), in collaboration with the Pakistan Optometric Society (POS), organized a national symposium and awareness walk to highlight the importance of preventing avoidable blindness in Pakistan.
The event was held in connection with World Sight Day under the global theme “Love Your Eyes”.
HSA Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Shahzad Ali Khan stressed the need to integrate preventive eye care into the primary healthcare network to improve access to eye health services.
Prof. Dr. Shahid Mahmood Baig highlighted strategies for addressing inherited eye diseases through family genetic counselling, while Prof. Dr. Mati-ur-Rehman discussed early diagnosis and surgical protocols for cataracts and retinal diseases.
Head of the Optometry Department and President of the Federal Pakistan Optometric Society (POS) highlighted global trends in visual impairment, the burden of uncorrected refractive errors and the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-based diagnostic devices to strengthen the role of optometrists as frontline primary healthcare providers.
Head of Rehabilitation Sciences Dr. Nusrat Naseem presented data on spectacle compliance among school-going children, emphasizing the importance of timely and consistent use of spectacles to prevent long-term vision loss.
The symposium concluded with an awareness walk led by faculty members, health professionals and optometry students across the HSA campus to promote eye health and encourage timely eye examinations.
