Ophthalmologist Sanduk Ruit has been awarded the prestigious ISA award devoted to serving humanity, irrespective of caste and creed across the world.
Dr Ruit is the fifth recipient of the prestigious ISA Award for his work on blindness prevention.
The Isa Award for Service to Humanity carries US $1 million, a gold medal and a certificate.
The award will be given away in February.
The Award has previously been granted to Dr. Jemilah Mahmood, the founder of the Malaysian Medical Relief Society (MERCY Malaysia) for the first time in 2013. A medical doctor and Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists was the first laureate.
The second laurate was Dr. Achyuta Samanta the founder of India’s Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences and the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology in 2015 who is widely described as a living legend because of his own miraculous journey out of poverty but also for his relentless quest to help those languishing in abject poverty, ignorance and neglect.
Likewise, The Children’s Cancer Hospital Egypt–popularly known as Hospital 57357 was awarded for the third time in 2017 whereas The Edhi Charitable Foundation of Pakistan received a prestigious award for fourth edition in 2019.
The Isa Award is granted every two years to either individuals or organizations who have been selected through a grueling process by an expert panel of jurists.
Established in 2009, the “Isa Award for services to Humanity” has been named after His Highness the Late Amir of Bahrain, Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the King of Bahrain as a gift from Bahrain to the world.
Late Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa is a great humanitarian and a revolutionary ruler known for his empathy and compassion.
Shaikh Isa’s rule was characterized by his dedication to driving resources towards innovative ideas in economic development, international relations, and social welfare.
It is also believed that the award inspires countless young people in different parts of the world to look for innovative ways to change the world and play their role in service to humanity.
Making the announcement, Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, Special Representative of His Majesty the King and Board of Trustees Chairman, on January 17, 2023 at the award announcement ceremony held at the Isa Cultural Centre in Manama, capital city of Bahrain announced the award to Dr. Ruit informing “there were 139 nominations for the award this year. The Nepali ophthalmologist Dr. Sanduk Ruit was recognised for his service to the community and achievements.”
Dr Ruit has developed a simple method to treat patients with cataracts. He also invented intraocular lenses and made them available at affordable rates. Due to this, millions of people with blindness in developing countries including Nepal have been able to see. If Dr. Ruit had not taken the initiative, those people would probably not have seen the world.
Among the 139 individuals and organisations’ nominations for the award, only six people/organisations were shortlisted. After the six people shortlist was published, the award selection committee members and researchers visited the countries where the 6 people and organisations are located and got information about the work they are doing.
At last, after reviewing all the activities, among the six, the seven-member jury led by famous law professor Jan Paulson of the University of Miami chose Dr. Ruit for the award.
Born in a remote area of Nepal, Ruit got his medical education in India through a scholarship. He got a gold medal in surgery during his MBBS. He came back to Nepal and joined as a government health officer. Ruit went for research to Australia where he mastered the latest techniques in cataract microsurgery, using implanted intraocular lenses.
Ruit returned to Nepal and introduced the new techniques in the country in 1988. Brilliant and innovative, his landmark technique helped countless people get cheap but high-quality lenses.
Dr Ruit has previously won the Ramon Magsaysay award (2006), Order of Australia (2007) and Padma Shri Award in India (2018).
In 2072 (BS), he received Bhutan’s highest honour, the National Order of Merit, for playing a role in restoring the sight of hundreds of people and preventing blindness.
Additionally, he received the Prime Minister’s National Talent Award in Nepal in 2075 and the well-known Prabal Jana Sewa Shree Medal in 2077.
“This is the biggest award” said Dr. Ruit who has succeeded in giving eyesight to more than 180,000 people from different countries including Nepal.
Ali Abdullah Khalifa, Secretary General of ISA Award for Humanity, mentioned Dr. Ruit’s unimaginable contribution to the treatment of cataracts and said that if it were not for his activism, thousands would not be able to see.
Speaking on the occasion, Ali Abdullah Khalifa, Secretary General of the Isa Award for Service to Humanity, said the award was being conferred upon Dr Ruit for his novel approach to treating cataracts. “He was able to save the sight of hundreds of thousands of people who would have otherwise gone blind,” the Secretary General noted.
In a service spanning more than 30 years, he set up centres that provided not only eye-care services but also manufactured extremely high-quality intraocular lenses for surgery for less than US $3 a piece.
Over the years Dr Ruit’s mobile eye camps and advocacy for treatable blindness have expanded to around the world.
He has also performed more than 50,000 eye surgeries and procedures at no charge to those who otherwise couldn’t afford them.
Talking to the media on Wednesday in capital after being named for the award, Dr. Ruit expressed “I am so delighted to be awarded with such an international prestigious award which recognized my hard working service.”
“It is a matter of pride for me personally but of course for the nation too,” he said.
