ISLAMABAD, June 11: The government on Saturday launched a Rs2.84 billion five-year national plan for prevention of blindness that will benefit an estimated two million people in the country. “Already approved by the Planning Commission, the local-funded programme is being launched initially in seven districts of the country,” Health Minister Mohammad Nasir Khan told reporters at a local hotel. WHO representative Khalif Bile, Health Secretary Anwar Mehmood and Director-General Health Majeed Rajput were also present.

According to a 1987-89 survey, there were 2.5 million visually-impaired people in the country, while results of a survey conducted in 2001-03 will be revealed soon.

Under the programme, an attempt would be made to restore the sight of two million people by strengthening 63 district and 147 tehsil eye units. The programme is also designed to develop refraction and low vision treatment in 63 district eye units.

The minister said seven centres of excellence would be developed one each at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), PIPO Lahore, Nishter Hospital Multan, PICO Peshawar, Civil Hospital Karachi and Helpers’ Eye Hospital Quetta besides enhancing research capacity in these centres.

Besides, twenty tertiary-level teaching eye departments in different hospitals would be upgraded.

The minister said 50,000 primary health care workers would be trained in addition to imparting skills to 100 community ophthalmologists and over 600 mid-level eye-care personnel.

The programme is also aimed at developing a framework for delivery of “Vision-2020” up to district and tehsil levels and creating job opportunities for technical staff. He said 2,711 posts would be created by the end of year 2009 by the respective provinces.

In May 2003, the World Health Assembly had adopted a resolution on Vision 2020: The right to sight; urging members countries to initiate national programmes to prevent and control blindness. Subsequently, Pakistan made the control of blindness a major public health priority.

All the provincial governments have agreed to meet the operational expenditure of the project, and Punjab would allocate Rs160 million, NWFP Rs82.37 million, Sindh Rs93.58 million and Balochistan Rs62.19 million.

In addition, the minister said, a federal project management unit would be set up in Islamabad to ensure implementation of the programme. Similarly, a seven-member project steering committee headed by the health secretary would also be formed.

He said the budgetary allocations during the last two-and-a- half years in the health sector had increased from Rs3.4 million to Rs12 billion. Out of this, Rs9.4 billion was development budget.

He was confident that the total share of the health sector, which currently was 0.98 per cent of the GNP, would reach to two per cent mark by the end of the next year while the utilization which had been enhanced from 53 per cent to 94 per cent would be further improved.