Bascom Palmer Eye Institute Abu Dhabi Sends $1 Million Medical Aid Package to Gaza for 5,000 Patients Awaiting Sight-Saving Surgery

Bascom Palmer Eye Institute Abu Dhabi dispatched ophthalmic medicine, consumables and diagnostic equipment worth approximately $1 million to Gaza this week, intended for 5,000 patients on waiting lists for preventable blindness, according to The National reporting September 22, 2026. The supplies will be delivered to St John Eye Hospital in Gaza via the Emirates Red Crescent, where people have been awaiting optical care for more than six months due to shortages. Bascom Palmer Eye Institute Abu Dhabi is the first international location of the US top-ranked eye hospital, operated by the University of Miami Health System in partnership with Abu Dhabi's Department of Health and August Medical, and opened in the emirate in late 2025. Dr Zain Kenderian, chief executive of Bascom Palmer Eye Institute Abu Dhabi, said the Emirates Red Crescent provides a trusted route to put specialist supplies into the hands of those who need them most in Gaza. Many patients lose their sight because no one can reach them in time, and in most cases blindness is preventable through a course of medication, a laser session or a working diagnostic machine, Kenderian explained. The supplies are ready and what matters now is that they reach the clinicians in Gaza waiting to use them. The aid package represents the latest in a series of UAE humanitarian shipments to Gaza. The National noted separately that the UAE has sent 781 tonnes of food and shelter supplies to Gaza in recent weeks, and previous batches of medical aid have arrived in the enclave via Emirates Red Crescent coordination. The $1 million ophthalmic package specifically addresses a gap in specialized eye care capacity that has left thousands at risk of permanent vision loss.