INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
MANAMA: Dr Sanduk Ruit, noted Nepali ophthalmologist, will receive the fifth edition of Isa award for service to
humanity, a top civilian honour of the Kingdom of Bahrain."The Nepali ophthalmologist, Dr Sanduk Ruit, was recognised for his service to the
community and professional achievements with this award for 2021-2022," Sheikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, Special Representative of
His Majesty the King, and Chairman of the Isa Award for Service to Humanity said while announcing the winner of the award in Manama this
afternoon.The biennial award will be presented at a ceremony to be held under the patronage of King Hamad Bin Eisa Al Khalifa at the Isa
Cultural Centre in Manama next month
Dr Ruit will receive a certificate of merit, a gold medal and a US$1 million cash prize.
"There were 139 candidates for
the award from all over the world, and the Board of Trustees worked tirelessly with the award secretariat and the arbitration committee,
which was made up of international personalities with expertise and scholarly, legal, and academic competence in research and investigation,
to determine who would receive the award based on their humanitarian work," Sheikh Mohammed said, adding that five candidates who meet the
prize's requirements were chosen for further consideration
"The board of trustees for the award assessed the work of the five applicants and determined that a field work team would visit and
investigate the achievements of the candidates in accordance with the award's regulations and the procedures followed."
Board of Trustees
considered the findings of the field research team's visits and decided that Dr Ruit's work is worthy of the Isa Award for Service to
Humanity in its fifth session because of the originality of his efforts and his success, which is closer to the spirit of the criteria
specified for presenting the award than the works of the other nominees, Secretary General of the Isa Award for Service to Humanity Ali
Abdullah Khalifa saidAccording to him, Dr Ruit, considered as the god of sight, also gained international acclaim for developing a novel
approach to treating cataracts
"He also succeeded in creating a new implantable lens that could be produced at a much lower price than its counterparts, allowing him to
complete cataract surgery in significantly less time while cataracts can be surgically removed through tiny incisions in as little as five
minutes, and replaced with an inexpensive artificial lens.
By not charging his low-income patients, Dr Ruit was able to save the sight of
almost 120,000 people who would have otherwise gone blind, the research team observed while examining Dr Ruit's contribution
Dr Ruit, Executive Director of Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology, performed more than 50,000 eye surgeries and procedures at no charge to
those who otherwise couldn't afford them over the last 30 years
Over the past few years, Dr Ruit has led a team of ophthalmologists on a mission to several Asian and African countries, where they have
treated the eyes of thousands of underprivileged patients and trained local doctors how to undertake the ground-breaking procedures they
have developed.According to the findings of field research, Dr Ruit's revolutionary surgical technique has helped cut the rate of
preventable blindness in Nepal by nearly half while more than 650 doctors from all over the world have been trained by him to follow in his
footsteps, and he has taught them everything he has mastered in his fight against preventable blindness in order to ensure that more than 35
million surgeries have been conducted so far.
Dr Ruit, winner of the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay award in 2006, also co-founded the Tej
Kohli -Ruit Foundation with a mission to cure half a million people of needless blindness in the developing world by 2030
He received the "Prince Mahidol Award for Public Health" in 2007
The Government of Australia conferred on him "The Order of Australia" in 2007
In 2014, he was awarded Social Entrepreneur of the Year by the Schwab Foundation
In 2016, he was awarded the "Asian Game Changer Award" by the Asia Society of New York
In 2017, he was picked by the Albert Einstein Foundation as one of the "Hundred Leading Global Visionaries of the Century."In honour of the
legacy of his great father, Sheikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of the Kingdom of Bahrain, established the Isa
Award for Service to Humanity in 2009 to raise public awareness of the remarkable humanitarian efforts taking place all around the world, as
well as to encourage and motivate more individuals to take part in such efforts.
The Award has previously been granted to Jemilah Mahmoud,
the founder of the Malaysian Medical Relief Society (MERCY Malaysia), Dr Achyuta Samanta, the founder of India's Kalinga Institute of Social
Sciences and the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, the Children's Cancer Hospital Foundation in the Arab Republic of Egypt, and
the EDHI Foundation of Pakistan.
This article first appeared/also appeared in https://thehimalayantimes.com