Govt conducts over 28000 cataract operation free

Raipur, October 03, 2011 

The state government has successfully conducted cataract operations of 28234 patients free-of-cost under Centre’s National Programme for Control of Blindness (NPCB) from April 1 to August 31 in the current financial year. After operation, lens transplantation was done gratis in the eyes of 27317 patients while 734 received spectacles. Notably, in previous fiscal, the government had conducted free cataract operations of 102660 patients.

The officials of Health and Family Welfare Minister informed that the department had achieved 102 percent of the given target in 2010-11. In this financial year, the department aims to conduct 1.10 lakh cataract operations.

The operations are being done in government as well as private hospitals, the officials said. The department has conducted over 6.70 lakh cataract operations since 2004-05.

The NPCB was launched in the year 1976 as a 100 percent Centrally-sponsored scheme with the goal to reduce the prevalence of blindness to 0.3 percent by 2020, the officials informed. The NPCB also conducted rapid survey on avoidable blindness during 2006-07 and found reduction in the prevalence rate of blindness from 1.1 percent (2001-02) to 1 percent (2006-07).

They said the NPCB aimed to reduce the backlog of blindness through identification and treatment of the blind, to develop comprehensive eye care facilities in every district, to develop human resources for providing eye care services, to improve quality of service delivery, to secure participation of voluntary organisations as well as private practitioners in eye care.

Presently, there are 193 ophthalmologists in the state of which 63 are in government service. The officials informed that all the district hospitals and nine community health centres of the state provide eye operation facility. Besides, the eye camps are being organised at development block level every month to conduct free-of-cost cataract operations, they said.

The number beneficiaries of cataract operation from different districts is – Kanker (North Bastar) – 518, Dantewada (South Bastar) – 609, Narayanpur – 116, Jagdalpur (Bastar) – 3266, Korba – 327, Janjgir-Champa – 827, Bilaspur – 3814, Raigarh – 473, Kabirdham – 63, Durg – 6047, Dhamtari – 1497, Mahasamund – 416, Rajnandgaon – 2655, Raipur – 6655, Koria – 172, Jashpur – 348 and Sarguja – 636.