BIOGRAPHY OF CMO - DR M. MAZHAR AWAN

Dr Awan is a consultant ophthalmologist with more than 40 years of experience. Back in the year 2003, he decided to dedicate the remaining years of his professional life, full time to the service of the underprivileged majority of the community. As a humble start in 2004, he converted a donated two-bedroom first-floor apartment into an eye clinic and never had to look back. It took him about 12 years of hard work and perseverance to earn donor confidence and patient satisfaction.

Dr Mazhar’s contributions in the fight against Visual Loss and blindness in Pakistan, in line with the vision of being the engine of creating and delivering high-quality eye healthcare available and accessible for all. He aims to rid the world of avoidable blindness and Visual Loss in line with IAPB/ WHO Vision 2020 Right-to-Sight Initiative and Global Action Plan (GAP) Integrated with People-Centered Eye Care (IPCEC).

His physical impediment, being in a wheelchair for the last 15 years or so following an episode of Myelitis in the past, didn’t hold him back from the relentless pursuit of his vision. In his words, “I have achieved more during this phase of disability than during able years.”

He worked hard to create Khairun’nisa Eye Hospital and then got it certified for ISO 9001:2015 QMS. This was his way of ensuring the creation and delivery of quality service. He strongly feels it’s the right of all, regardless of their paying power.

As of date, Dec 2022, more than 90,000 patients have beneftted with eye healthcare consutations and more than 20,000 major Surgeries have benn performed, and counting. About 80 % of the patients weren provided service  Free Of Cost. Countless outpatient diagnostic & therapeutic procedures, medicines, optical aids, major and minor surgical procedures were provided.

He Initiated the School Health Program with the following unique attributes. Electronic robust database for reference and analysis, empowerment of school staff by increasing their awareness and learning basic eyesight screening of students and last but not the least, follow-up of the visually impaired children.

HRD is THE only way forwards if we want to achieve meaningful results in curtailing the prevalence of Visual Loss and blindness anywhere. Dr Mazhar Awan, with his team, is developing a six monthly internship program aimed at capacity building of our optometry graduates. 

He firmly believes that target of minimising, let alone eliminating, Visual Loss is possible through the provision of robust primary care infrastructure accessible in the community and/or strengthening the existing infra-structure through public-private partnership and capacity building efforts.

My fight to cure blindness commenced on the day I chose ophthalmology as my field of specialization, soon after my graduation back in 1982.  The turning point in my practice however came 21 years later in 2003, when I decided to dedicate the remaining career full time to service of less privileged. Those who don’t have financial means for decent eye care or access to what present-day science and technology can offer in this regard.

My humble but consistent start was from a small first-floor residential flat in Karachi, where I relentlessly served for about 12 years albeit on a humble scale. The time came when we needed to expand our service base and intake/output capacity. In 2016, courtesy of Mr. Khalil Sattar CEO of K&N’s Foundation, we shifted over to his ancestral home and had it converted into an eye hospital. We named it Khairunisa Eye Hospital in loving memory of his deceased mother. Here by the grace of the Almighty the scope, as well as our service base, increased by leaps and bounds.

We do not want to slow down or stop here but hope and pray to carry on this mission forward. We would like to grow into a bigger and better, state-of-the-art and internationally accredited purpose-built eye care and teaching facility with its doors always open and accessible to the less fortunate and less privileged as well as the fortunate few, without any discrimination or compromises in the quality of service.

Now as an ISO:9001 2015 QMS Certified organization we have also taken humble steps towards community outreach programs of School Health Services for our future generation and hence contribute towards making Pakistan and this world a better place.

Dr Muhammad Mazhar Awan

CMO – Khairunisa Eye Hospital