The Al Hasan Foundation is a London-based charity founded in 2004 by British ophthalmic surgeon Dr. Haidar Al Hakim and his former patient and friend, Sharon Ridsdale with the following aims:

A. To relieve sickness, preserve and protect health by:

i) facilitating the establishment of the Al-Hasan Community Ophthalmic Clinic in Najaf, Iraq
ii) providing medical and surgical services
iii) facilitating access to ophthalmic care for the disadvantaged people of Iraq, regardless of age, gender, religion or
ethnic background

B. To promote research into the prevention of blindness and to disseminate the useful results for the benefit of the public.

C. To further such other charitable purposes that the trustees (not being less than three in number) shall from time to time by deed unanimously declare.

The facts are startling: 90% of healthcare in Iraq is provided by private hospitals and clinics, whilst 70% of the population is unemployed. Thousands have been displaced from their homes. Malnourished and subsisting on meagre food supplies from charities, many Iraqi families find healthcare a luxury they can ill afford.

Regarding ophthalmic care in particular, the situation is even worse: medical facilities and treatment centres are devastated from years of neglect, with much of the equipment outdated and barely functioning. Surgeons lack skills training and are demoralised from years of working under these conditions.

We are aware that for our project to succeed we need to involve the local health care providers, community members, academics as well as religious and political leaders. We would need to ensure that we can provide long-term help and support to the community over many years.

For more information on our work, click here (link to Activities page) and to read our back story click here (link to History page).