Sanduk Ruit

{{Infobox medical person

| name = Sanduk Ruit

| native_name = सन्दुक रूइत

| caption = Ruit in 2011

| image = Sanduk Ruit Erudite Conclave Medical College Trivandrum.JPG

| image_size = 200

| birth_place = Olangchung Gola, Nepal

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1954|09|04}}

| occupation = Ophthalmologist

| office = Founder and Executive Director of Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology

| spouse = Nanda Ruit

| children = 3

| alma_mater = King George's Medical College
AIIMS Delhi

| awards = Honorary Officer of the Order of Australia
Ramon Magsaysay Award
Prince Mahidol Award
National Order of Merit of Bhutan
Asia Game Changer Award
Padma Shri
Genius 100
ISA Award for Service to Humanity

| website = {{URL|https://tilganga.org}}

| specialism = Cornea and Cataract

}}

Sanduk Ruit ({{langx|ne|सन्दुक रूइत}}; {{IPA|ne|ˈsʌnduk rui̯t|pron}}) is an ophthalmologist from Nepal who was involved to restore the sight of over 180,000 people{{Cite news|url=https://www.afr.com/lifestyle/health/fred-hollows-protege-sanduk-ruit-the-barefoot-surgeon-20180605-h10zjr|title=Fred Hollows' protege Sanduk Ruit, the barefoot surgeon|last=Gripper|first=Ali|date=June 20, 2018|access-date=2018-10-02}} across Africa and Asia using small-incision cataract surgery.{{cite web |title=Sight for sore eyes: 'Maverick' doctor who restored the vision of 100,000 people |date=15 December 2014 |publisher=CNN |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2014/12/14/world/asia/nepal-eye-doctor/|access-date=2014-12-17}}

Ruit is the founder and the executive director of the Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology, which manufactures intraocular lenses for surgical implantation at a fraction of the previous manufacturing cost. The low cost has made cataract surgeries slightly cheaper in Nepal.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/08/opinion/sunday/in-5-minutes-he-lets-the-blind-see.html|title=In 5 minutes, he lets the blind see|last=Kristoff|first=Nicholas|date=2015-11-07|work=The New York Times|access-date=2018-10-04}}

Ruit has been referred to as the "God of Sight".{{Cite news|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/35935864/ns/health-health_care/t/nepalese-doc-god-sight-nations-poor/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140426232758/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/35935864/ns/health-health_care/t/nepalese-doc-god-sight-nations-poor/|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 26, 2014|title=Nepalese Doc is 'God of Sight' to nation's poor|last=Mason|first=Margie|date=March 21, 2010|work=NBCNews|access-date=2018-10-05}} He was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Peace and International Understanding, considered to be the Asian equivalent of the Nobel Prize, for "placing Nepal at the forefront of developing safe, effective, and economical procedures for cataract surgery, enabling the needlessly blind in even the poorest countries to see again."{{Cite web|url=http://rmaward.asia/awardees/ruit-sanduk/|title=Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation|access-date=2018-10-01}} He was awarded with the ISA award, the highest civilian award in Bahrain by the king of Bahrain for developing highly affordable and sustainable ways to cure cataracts throughout the developing world with a cash prize of 1 million dollars.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

Early life and education

Ruit was born on September 4, 1954, to rural, illiterate parents, father Sonam Ruit and mother Kesang Ruit, in the remote mountainous village Olangchunggola near the border with Tibet in northeast Nepal. His village of 200 people was located 11,000 feet above sea level on the lap of the world's third-highest peak, Mt. Kanchenjunga. It is one of the most remote regions of Nepal with no electricity, school, health facilities or modern means of communication, and lies blanketed under snow for six to nine months a year. Ruit's family made a subsistence living from small agriculture, petty trading and livestock farming.{{Cite web|url=http://rmaward.asia/awardees/ruit-sanduk/|title=Ruit, Sanduk|date=2006|website=Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation|access-date=2018-10-04}}

Ruit was the second of his parents’ six children. He lost three siblings – an elder brother to diarrhoea at age three{{Cite book|title=The Barefoot Surgeon: The inspirational story of Dr Sanduk Ruit, the eye surgeon giving sight and hope to the world's poor|last=Gripper|first=Ali|publisher=Allen & Unwin|year=2018|isbn=9781760292706|location=Australia}}{{rp|3–4}} and younger sister Chundak to fever at age eight. In many interviews, Ruit has mentioned that for him, the most painful was his younger sister Yangla's death. Yangla was his childhood companion, and he was to develop a special bond with her over the years.{{rp|9}} She died at 15 of tuberculosis as the family was too poor to afford treatment that could have saved her life. In many interviews, Ruit has said that this loss made a strong mark on him and instilled in him a resolve to become a doctor and work for the poor who would not otherwise have access to healthcare.{{rp|37–40}}

The nearest school from his village was fifteen days' walk away in Darjeeling.{{cite web|url=http://rmaward.asia/rmtli/everyone-deserves-good-vision/|title=Sanduk Ruit: Everyone Deserves Good Vision|date=July 25, 2016|publisher=Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation|access-date=2018-01-23|archive-date=2018-09-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180903201400/http://rmaward.asia/rmtli/everyone-deserves-good-vision/|url-status=dead}} His father, a small-time businessman, sent Ruit to St Robert's School in Darjeeling at the age of seven, and provided financial support for his early medical career. Ruit's life in Darjeeling was hard as he was away from his parents and home for about four to five years. After a few years, he returned to Nepal and continued his study. In 1969, Ruit graduated from Siddhartha Vanasthali School in Kathmandu, Nepal,{{Cite web|title=Dr Sanduk Ruit sang 'Dewa Penglihatan' Bagi Pasien Katarak|url=https://health.detik.com/berita-detikhealth/d-1811820/dr-sanduk-ruit-sang-dewa-penglihatan-bagi-pasien-katarak|access-date=2021-10-04|website=detikHealth|language=id}} and later was further educated in India. He studied a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery from King George's Medical College, Lucknow, with a scholarship from 1972 to 1976. Ruit then returned to Nepal and worked as a General Physician in Bir Hospital, Kathmandu for three years. Later he wanted to specialize in ophthalmology, so he continued his studies from 1981 at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi with a scholarship and achieved his Master's Degree.{{Cite news|last=Gripper|first=Ali|date=2019-11-08|title=I can feel their pain: Dr. Sanduk Ruit|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/society/i-can-feel-their-pain-dr-sanduk-ruit/article29919398.ece|access-date=2021-10-04|issn=0971-751X}} After three years in 1984 he returned to Nepal and worked in an eye hospital in Tripureshwor for eight years. Meanwhile Australian ophthalmologist Fred Hollows was in Nepal as a mentor, selected by WHO. He noticed Ruit's work and determination and offered him further study about cataract surgery in Australia in 1986. Ruit further studied in Australia, the Netherlands and the United States.

Early career and marriage

While in Australia, Ruit gained further deep specialization in eye surgery. Ruit and Hollows created the Small Incision Cataract Surgery (SICS), which used intraocular lenses, and Ruit became the first Nepali doctor to use intraocular lenses.{{Cite web |title=Sanduk Ruit, MD Co-Founder of HCP |url=https://www.cureblindness.org/who-we-are/founders/dr-sanduk-ruit |access-date=2022-05-11 |website=www.cureblindness.org |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526103702/https://www.cureblindness.org/who-we-are/founders/dr-sanduk-ruit |archivedate=2022-05-26}} To gain donations to make eye surgeries more affordable and accessible in Nepal, he established Nepal Eye Program Australia, later renamed The Fred Hollows Foundation. He was offered to stay and work in Australia, but he returned to Nepal and continued to work at Tripureshwor Eye Hospital.{{Cite web |title=Class- 10 Nepali Book Pages 1-50 - Flip PDF Download {{!}} FlipHTML5 |url=https://fliphtml5.com/bhwwt/afxd/basic/ |access-date=2022-05-11 |website=fliphtml5.com}}

Ruit married Nanda Shrestha, an ophthalmic nurse, in 1987.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}} He has one son and two daughters.

Accomplishments

Working in Australia in 1986, Ruit and Fred Hollows developed a strategy for using inexpensive intraocular lenses to bring small-incision cataract surgery to the developing world.{{cite web |url=http://www.healio.com/ophthalmology/news/print/ocular-surgery-news-asia-pacific-edition/%7B8ec07d3b-a963-4a73-a770-0b06574ff9a0%7D/surgeon-brings-innovative-techniques-to-ophthalmologists-worldwide |publisher=Ocular Surgery News |title=Surgeon brings innovative techniques to ophthalmologists worldwide |date=June 1, 2010 |access-date=2018-01-23}} However, the lenses remained too expensive for many cataract patients. In 1995, Ruit developed a new intraocular lens that could be produced far more cheaply and which, as of 2010, is used in over 60 countries. Ruit's method is now taught in U.S. medical schools. Despite being far cheaper, Ruit's method has the same success rate as Western techniques: 98% at six months.

In 1994,{{cite web|url=http://www.tilganga.org/|title=Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology|website=Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology|access-date=2017-10-06}} Dr. Ruit founded the Tilganga Eye Center, now called the Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology, in Kathmandu.{{cite web |url=https://www.hollows.org/au/latest/sight-restored-to-187-people-in-remote-nepal |title=Sight restored to 187 people in remote Nepal |publisher=The Fred Hollows Foundation |access-date=2018-01-23 |date=2010 }} It aims to provide eye care at an affordable price.{{cite web |date=April 24, 2010 |title=Bringing Sight To Millions |url=http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/printable_news.php?news_id=17846 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726053048/http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/printable_news.php?news_id=17846 |archive-date=July 26, 2011 |publisher=Nepal Republic Media}} The institute works closely with the Himalayan Cataract Project and other organizations to give cataract surgery to people in some of the world's most perilous and inaccessible locations, frequently for free. Tilganga has performed over 100,000 operations, trained over 500 medical personnel from around the world, and produces Ruit's intraocular lenses at a cost of less than US $5 each. It also produces prosthetic eyes for US $3, compared to imports that cost $150. For those unable to reach the centre or who live in otherwise isolated rural areas, Ruit and his team set up mobile eye camps, often using tents, classrooms, and even animal stables as makeshift operating rooms.

After treating a North Korean diplomat in Kathmandu, Ruit persuaded North Korean authorities to let him visit in 2006. There he conducted surgery on 1000 patients and trained many local surgeons.{{Cite web|url=https://docuwiki.net/index.php?title=Inside_-_Undercover_in_North_Korea|title=Inside - Undercover in North Korea - DocuWiki|website=Docuwiki.net|access-date=5 February 2022}}

In April 2021, Ruit launched the Tej Kohli & Ruit Foundation{{Cite web|last=Times|first=Nepali|title=Tej Kohli & Ruit Foundation|date=22 April 2021 |url=https://www.nepalitimes.com/business/tej-kohli-ruit-foundation/|access-date=2021-09-30|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=In Pictures: Nepal's God of Sight eye doctor seeks to expand work|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2021/4/21/nepals-god-of-sight-eye-doctor-to-expand-work-beyond-border|access-date=2021-09-30|website=Aljazeera.com|language=en}} with a mission to screen 1,000,000 people and cure 300,000 of cataract blindness by 2026.{{Cite web|date=2021-04-20|title=Nepal's God of Sight eye doctor to expand work beyond border|url=https://apnews.com/article/world-news-kathmandu-nepal-cataracts-e1bfc370318c06163b7aa6f40e7e022c|access-date=2021-09-30|website=AP NEWS|language=en}} In March 2021, the foundation conducted its first microsurgical outreach camp in the Lumbini region of Nepal, where it screened 1,387 patients and cured 312 of blindness.{{Cite web|title=Nepal's God of Sight eye doctor to expand work beyond border|url=https://www.msn.com/en-xl/asia/nepal/nepals-god-of-sight-eye-doctor-to-expand-work-beyond-border/ar-BB1fqhGp|access-date=2021-09-30|website=Msn.com}} Another camp in the Solukhumbu region screened 1,214 patients and cured 178 of blindness in April 2021.

Media coverage

"Surgeon Dr Sanduk Ruit revolutionizing cataract surgery gives sight to thousands", 2018 feature story by Miranda Wood on The Daily Telegraph {{citation Needed|date=January 2024}}
A 2006 National Geographic documentary Inside North Korea documented not only Ruit's surgery in the highly controlled country but also the resulting overt adulation by the patients given to the then-Supreme Leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea Kim Jong-il.{{citation Needed|date=January 2024}}
Ruit's work in Nepal featured in Episode 5 (Mountains – Life in Thin Air) of the 2010 BBC documentary series Human Planet.{{cite web|url=http://www.hollows.org/|title=Australian charity ending avoidable blindness |publisher=The Fred Hollows Foundation|access-date=2017-10-26}}
Out of the Darkness, a 2011 film by Italian director Stefano Levi, documents Ruit's work in remote Northern Nepal.{{cite web|url=http://www.outofthedarkness-film.com|title=Out of the Darkness |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170626195757/http://www.outofthedarkness-film.com/|archive-date=June 26, 2017}}
In 2015, Ruit and his work were featured in a New York Times op-ed by Nicholas Kristof: "In 5 Minutes, He Lets the Blind See". The article was based on reporting in Nepal by Kristof and Austin Meyer, a graduate journalism student at Stanford University, during the trip with the winner of the 2015 New York Times Win a Trip with Nick Kristof contest.
ABC Radio interview for ABC Conversations, "The doctor known as the ‘God of Sight’", by Richard Fidler (2018)"{{Cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/conversations/conversations-sanduk-ruit/9941582|title=The doctor known as 'the God of Sight'|date=5 July 2018|website=Abc.net.au|access-date=5 February 2022}}
CBS News article by Bill Whitaker, "Restoring eyesight with a simple, inexpensive surgery" (2017){{Cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fighting-preventable-blindness-in-burma-and-beyond/|title=Restoring eyesight with a simple, inexpensive surgery|website=Cbsnews.com|date=16 April 2017 |access-date=5 February 2022}}
CNN article "Sight for sore eyes: 'Maverick' doctor who restored the vision of 100,000 people" by Sophie Brown (2014){{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2014/12/14/world/asia/nepal-eye-doctor/index.html|title=Nepalese eye doctor restored vision of 100,000 people|author=Sophie Brown|website=Cnn.com|date=15 December 2014 |access-date=5 February 2022}}
CNN photos "Nepal Miracle Eye Doctor heals 100,000" (2014){{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2014/12/11/asia/gallery/nepal-eye-doctor/index.html|title=Nepal's miracle eye doctor heals 100,000|website=Cnn|date=11 December 2014 |access-date=5 February 2022}}
National Geographic documentary "Miracle Doctors: Curing Blindness"{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8d_aFkoJLA|title=cureblindness.org - NG1|access-date=5 February 2022|via=YouTube}}
Al Jazeera documentary "The Gift of Sight" (2014){{Cite web |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/101east/2014/07/gift-sight-201471574440164234.html |title=The gift of sight | Health | al Jazeera |access-date=2018-11-13 |archive-date=2018-11-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181114060145/https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/101east/2014/07/gift-sight-201471574440164234.html |url-status=dead }}
Reuters feature "Nepal's 'magic' surgeon brings light back to poor" (2012){{Cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nepal-eyes-idUSBRE84100T20120502|title=Nepal's "magic" surgeon brings light back to poor|date=2 May 2012|access-date=5 February 2022|website=Reuters.com}}
Mini documentary by Great Big Story "This Surgeon Has Restored Sight to 130,000 of Nepal's Blind" (2019){{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVCfYGJV_2s|title=This Surgeon Has Restored Sight to 130,000 Blind People|date=22 July 2019 |access-date=5 February 2022|via=YouTube}}
Daily US Times feature "Nas Daily Discovers Dr. Sanduk Ruit: He Is The God Of Sight" (2020){{Cite web|url=https://www.dailyustimes.com/dr-sanduk-ruit-is-the-god-of-sight/|title=Nas Daily Discovers Dr. Sanduk Ruit: He Is The God Of Sight|website=Dailyustimes.com|date=25 January 2020|access-date=5 February 2022}}

Ruit's biography, The Barefoot Surgeon by Australian writer Ali Gripper, was published in June 2018.{{Cite news|url=https://www.hollows.org.nz/news/article/book-release-the-barefoot-surgeon|title=Book release: The Barefoot Surgeon|date=2018-06-26|work=The Fred Hollows Foundation|access-date=2018-10-14}} A Nepali translation Sanduk Ruit was published by Fine Print Books in 2019.{{Cite news|url=https://thuprai.com/news/sanduk-ruit-biography-nepali-book/|title=Book release: Sanduk Ruit (Nepali) |date=2019-09-18|work=Thuprai|access-date=2019-09-18}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.goodreads.com/work/editions/63303776-the-barefoot-surgeon-the-inspirational-story-of-dr-sanduk-ruit-the-ey|title=Editions of The Barefoot Surgeon: The inspirational story of Dr Sanduk Ruit, the eye surgeon giving sight and hope to the world's poor by Ali Gripper|website=Goodreads.com|access-date=5 February 2022}}

Awards and honors

In May 2007, Ruit was appointed an Honorary Officer of the Order of Australia "for service to humanity by establishing eye care services in Nepal and surrounding countries, and for his work in teaching and training surgeons and technical innovation".{{cite web|url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1134622|title=It's an Honour – Honours – Search Australian Honours|website=Itsanhonour.gov.au|access-date=2017-10-26|archive-date=2020-11-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116052328/https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1134622|url-status=live}}
In June 2006, he was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for International Understanding.{{cite web|url=http://www.rmaf.org.ph/Awardees/Citation/CitationRuitSan.htm|publisher=The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation |title=The 2006 Ramon Magsaysay Award for International Understanding − Citation for Sanduk Ruit |date=August 31, 2006 |access-date=2017-10-26 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120708185357/http://www.rmaf.org.ph/Awardees/Citation/CitationRuitSan.htm |archivedate=2012-07-08}}

File: The Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss presenting the Reader’s Digest “Asian of the Year 2007” award, to Dr. Sanduk Ruit, an eminent eye surgeon from Nepal, in New Delhi on March 05, 2007.jpg

On March 5, 2007, he was awarded the Asian of the Year 2007 by the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss, in New Delhi.
He was also awarded with Prince Mahidol Award of Thailand.
Asteroid 83362 Sandukruit, discovered by Bill Yeung in 2001, was named in his honor. The official {{MoMP|83362|naming citation}} was published by the Minor Planet Center on 30 March 2010 ({{small|M.P.C. 69494}}).
On December 17, 2015, he was conferred with the National Order of Merit of Bhutan [in Gold].{{cite web|url=http://www.bbs.bt/news/?p=55360|title=His Majesty awards National Order of Merit – BBS|date=December 17, 2015|access-date=2017-10-26}}
On October 27, 2016, he received an Asia Game Changer Award from the Asia Society "for bringing the gifts of sight and productive life to those most in need."{{cite web|url=https://www.americanbazaaronline.com/2016/09/13/nepali-eye-surgeon-sanduk-ruit-among-recipients-2016-asia-game-changers-award/|title=Nepali eye surgeon Sanduk Ruit among recipients of the 2016 Asia Game Changers award|author=|date=September 13, 2016|work=The American Bazaar|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160926191303/http://www.americanbazaaronline.com:80/2016/09/13/nepali-eye-surgeon-sanduk-ruit-among-recipients-2016-asia-game-changers-award|archive-date=September 26, 2016|access-date=September 15, 2020}}
In 2018, the Government of India awarded him the Padma Shri, its fourth highest civilian award, for “[his] innovation in the 1980s [that] led to a 90 per cent reduction in the cost of cataract eye surgery, provides low-cost cataract surgery lenses to over thirty countries.”{{Cite news|url=http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2018-01-26/nepali-ophthalmologist-sanduk-ruit-bags-indian-padma-shri-award.html|title=Nepali ophthalmologist Dr Sanduk Ruit bags Padma Shri Award|date=2018-01-26|work=The Kathmandu Post|access-date=2018-10-07}}
In 2019, the Government of Nepal honoured him with Prime Minister National Talent Award for his contribution to the field of ophthalmology. {{Cite web |date=2024-08-08 |title=Dr Sanduk Ruit awarded 'Prime Minister National Talent Award-2075' |url=https://www.myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/dr-sanduk-ruit-awarded-prime-minister-national-talent-award-2075 |access-date=2025-02-21 |website=www.myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com |language=en}}
In September 2020, the Nepal Government announced that Dr. Sanduk Ruit will be honoured with Suprasiddha Prabal Janasewashree (first).[https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/govt-announces-list-of-594-persons-for-state-honours/ Govt announces list of 594 persons for state honours]
On February 21, 2023, Dr Sanduk Ruit was awarded the prestigious ISA award for service to humanity amid a programme held at the ISA Cultural Centre in Manama, Bahrain. The King of Bahrain, His Majesty Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa handed Dr. Ruit $1 million during the royal ceremony."{{Cite web|url=https://arab.news/wftwc|title=Nepalese 'Sight Messenger' awarded with Bahrain's prestigious Isa Award for Service to Humanity|date=February 22, 2023|website=Arab News}}
A species of groundhopper (Orthoptera: Tetrigidae) discovered from Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park by a team led by Nepali researcher Madan Subedi has been named after Dr. Sanduk Ruit as Hebarditettix sanduki Subedi, Kasalo, & Skejo, 2024.{{cite journal | url=https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/JA7ITYZTMC8AT9FFRZ7M/full?target=10.1080/00379271.2024.2309170 | doi=10.1080/00379271.2024.2309170 | title=Tetrigidae (Orthoptera) of Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park in Nepal | date=2024 | last1=Subedi | first1=Madan | last2=Kasalo | first2=Niko | last3=Skejo | first3=Josip | journal=Annales de la Société Entomologique de France |series=Nouvelle Série | volume=60 | pages=53–84 }}
In 2023 Ruit was awarded an honorary Doctorate in Science by the United Kingdom's Anglia Ruskin University.{{Cite web |title=Honorary award holders - ARU |url=https://www.aru.ac.uk/graduation-and-alumni/honorary-award-holders2 |access-date=2024-03-07 |website=www.aru.ac.uk}}