The International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB), a World Health Organization (WHO) partner, has announced the election of Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-Rajhi as its head of the Eastern Mediterranean Region, which includes 22 countries. This is in recognition of Al-Rajhi’s leading role in the field of ophthalmology in general, and the prevention of blindness in particular.
Al-Rajhi was vice president of the International Council of Ophthalmology, executive co-chair for the Eastern Mediterranean Region at IAPB, chairman of the Middle East Africa Council of Ophthalmology, a member of the board of trustees of IAPB, and secretary-general of the National Committee for the Prevention of Blindness.
Al-Rajhi also contributed to the establishment and management of the Prevention of Blindness Union, in addition to developing regional and international ophthalmology organizations and leading international efforts to prioritize the prevention of blindness in the plans and strategies of WHO, a move that resulted in adding eye care to the agendas of national and global health programs.
The efforts of Al-Rajhi formed the basis for major changes in the advancement of eye health. He also won several global, regional and local awards in the fields of leadership, scientific achievement and eye care.
King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital, since Al-Rajhi took over as its CEO in 2017, has carried out various activities related to the prevention of blindness in the Kingdom. Al-Rajhi has organized a number of volunteer programs to perform cataract and cornea transplant operations in several Saudi regions.
Al-Rajhi established support groups for patients with the most common eye diseases that may lead to blindness, organized the “Help Me See” campaign to promote cornea donation after death, and established a rehabilitation center for the visually impaired — currently the only one in the Kingdom.