LAHORE, May 6: The health ministry has, for the first time, prioritized the prevention of blindness and prepared a Rs2.7 million five-year (2005-09) national plan for prevention of blindness. The plan will focus on upgradation of services at district and tehsil levels to help eradicate blindness from the country.
Prepared by national coordinator Prof Asad Aslam Khan, the plan has reportedly been approved by the health ministry and forwarded to the Planning Commission for a final approval.
Sources in the health ministry told Dawn that the government had prepared the plan to combat blindness that had become one of the major disabilities prevalent in Pakistan. The preliminary data collected through a recently conducted survey showed less than one per cent blindness which implied that there were over 1.4 million blind people in the country, he added.
Similarly, a national situation analysis of cataract surgical services conducted in 2001 found a rate of 2,250 per million population, whereas the recommended rate by the WHO is 3,000 per million. A survey of schools for the blind and analysis of national census data has estimated the prevalence of childhood blindness at 10 in 10,000.
Sources say the preparation of the plan means the ministry has included blindness in the Health Management Information System (HMIS). From now on, the HMIS would record data about three main diseases —- conjunctivitis (red eye), eye injury and impaired vision —- causing blindness. They say the national plan has also been included in the non-communicable disease portion of the 10th National Development Plan.
The proposed national plan is expected to lead Pakistan to meet the World Health Assembly resolution of May 2003 in which all member countries have been directed to implement Vision 2020 —- the right to sight.
Sources say the plan envisage upgradation of seven public sector institutions as centres of excellence. The institutions are Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad; Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Karachi; Punjab Institute of Preventive Ophthalmology, Lahore; Nishtar Hospital, Multan; Pakistan Institute of Community Ophthalmology, Peshawar; Civil Hospital, Karachi; and Helpers Eye Hospital, Quetta. The private sector Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital, Rawalpindi, will also be upgraded in collaboration with the international NGOs.
Besides the development of sub-specialities, it is learnt, ocular microbiology units would also be set up in these centres.
Moreover, ophthalmology departments at 20 tertiary care, 63 district and 147 tehsil hospitals would also be upgraded.
When contacted, Prof Asad Khan said with the implementation of the plan blindness in over two million people could be prevented, sight to two million blind people, including one million women, and 15,000 children would be restored.
With regard to the human resources development, the plan would offer training to 50,000 primary healthcare, 100 community ophthalmologists and over 600 mid-level eye care personnel.
Meanwhile, the national steering committee for the prevention of blindness had recently held a meeting, presided over by Health Minister Naseer Khan, in Islamabad.
The minister had asked his ministry to take steps for the implementation of the plan with the help of national and provincial coordinators and the health ministry.
Referring to the national eye survey, he said its results should be made available by July 15.
In order to lower the cost of cataract treatment, Mr Khan asked the ministry to follow the case of duty waiver on Intra Ocular Lens (IOLs) and other equipment at the Central Board of Revenue.
He asked the World Health Organization to increase the financial support for prevention of blindness under its programme.
A WHO representative in Pakistan has reportedly agreed to enhance financial support.
He said provinces should create posts of ophthalmologists at tehsil, refractionists and ophthalmic technicians at district and optometrist, orthoptists, technologists and community ophthalmologists at tertiary care hospitals. He urged Sindh and Balochistan governments to help set up community ophthalmology institutes.
He asked the health ministry to direct the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council to facilitate the issue of recognition of MSc in community ophthalmology.
