125 Nepalis go blind every day
There has been a significant improvement in the situation of blindness in the country with increased infrastructure and human resources gained over a decade, according to a report disseminated in the wake of World Sight Day on Monday.
The midterm review of Vision 2020: The Right to Sight has shown that the prevalence of blindness has declined from 0.84 percent in 1980-81 to 0.39 percent in 2010. According to the report, the number of eye hospitals has increased from 17 to 20, district eye centres from 40 to 63, ophthalmologists from 76 to 147 and service output from 884,635 to 1.5 million people in about 10 years. However, the review shows an alarming rate of Nepalis going blind—at least 125 per day while seven children become blind and two of them die every day. Around 8 million people in Nepal need eye care every year while only 1.5 million accessed the services in 2010.
The review also states blindness is estimated to cost the nation Rs 9.7 billion every year through the loss of income opportunities and for the upkeep of the visually-impaired. However, if Rs 1.5 billion is spent on cataract operation of 300,000 individuals, it will result in a saving of 8.2 billion. “Despite the achievement, the government is yet to incorporate eye health in general health system,” said Dr Madan P Upadhyay, coordinator of the review committee under the Ministry of Health and Population. With the inclusion, it would be easier to achieve the goal of Vision 2020, he added.
Posted on: 2011-10-16 07:22
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