April 5, 2002	Friday	Muharram 21, 1423

KARACHI, April 4: Sindh health minister, Maj-Gen Ahsan Ahmed, has announced special provision to accommodate well-qualified ophthalmic technicians against 77 existent posts at different district and taluka hospital eye units in Sindh.

The minister, addressing the launching ceremony of the District Eye Care Programme Sindh, jointly organised by the Prevention and Control of Blindness Cell and the Fred Hollows Foundation here on Thursday, said the special provision was in view of the increased incidence of cataract-induced blindness in the province.

He regretted that these cases, despite being preventable were increasing manifold mainly due to dearth of available resources, particularly of trained manpower.

Mr Ahsan Ahmed noted with concern that there existed more than 200,000 people blind in both eyes in Sindh alone and that 70 per cent of blindness was attributed to cataract.

To address the situation and improve the ophthalmic services in the province, he said, the government had recently filled the vacant posts of specialists including ophthalmologists at the district and taluka hospitals.

The minister said that about 92 qualified doctors had been posted throughout Sindh, who would serve in far-flung communities.

Highly appreciative of the assistance given by the Fred Hollow Foundation of Australia, the health minister also referred to their simple but highly efficient system while undertaking public service projects.

“We, as a nation, have to get rid of superficiality and unnecessary pomp considered a prerequisite while initiating any community work,” the minister said.

Prof Ziauddin Sheikh, provincial coordinator for the Prevention and Control of Blindness Programme Sindh, said that besides training and updating the knowledge of ophthalmologists working at district eye units, those units too were being refurbished and equipped with modern gadgets.

Under the scheme, he said, the ophthalmic theatre technicians course and the optometrist course had been introduced.

“The training of medical and allied personnel is also part of the PCB Sindh scheme and so far 553 healthcare providers have been trained, including LHWs, G.P and healthcare managers,” he said and added that fifteen ophthalmologists had already been trained while the other 10 would complete their training by the end of this year.

Prof Sheikh also referred to the FHF-sponsored District Eye Care Programme in the province, under which the eye units at Shikarpur, Naushero Feroz, Sanghar, Badin and Orangi Town Karachi are being adequately equipped and their staffers trained.

Dr Rubina Gillani, country manager FHF, said that the foundation was working to prevent blindness with the motto “To Reach the Unreachable”. She urged the local personnel to make proper use of the assistance extended to the benefit of the masses.

Dr Shahnawaz Munami of the PCB cell, Civil Hospital Karachi, presented an overview of blindness, its prevalence and prevention in Sindh.—APP