December 17, 2007	Monday	Zilhaj 6, 1428

PESHAWAR, Dec 16: The incidence of blindness in the country has deducted from 2.5 per cent a few years back to 0.9 per cent, a seminar was informed here on Saturday.

Speakers at the seminar titled “Prevention from Blindness” said that at least 1.5 million people were suffering from blindness. They said the government had launched a programme to treat patients of blindness till 2010.

They said work on providing medicines and meeting other requirements had begun and some 37 hospitals had been upgraded. The facilities, they said, would be provided to all hospitals at the district headquarters, tehsil and basic health unit level.

Projects for eye treatment, particularly of students would be initiated soon, they said, adding that the national programme had already been started in hospitals of Dir, Kohat, Hungo, Peshawar and Shangla.