Experts at a discussion said about 7,50,000 people in Bangladesh are suffering from blindness while approximately 253 million people in the world live with moderate to severe vision impairment.
Out of 253 million vision impairment, 36 million people are blind, they said.
“Around 1.5 million children in Bangladesh are suffering from low vision, which can be avoided through intervention while around 250,000 people in Bangladesh risk losing eyesight because of diabetic retinopathy,” Director of National Eye Care Line and National Institute of Ophthalmology and Hospital (NIOH) Dr Golam Mostafa said on Thursday in his keynote paper presented at the discussion.
National Eye Care under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare organized the discussion in the city as part of the countrywide observance of the World Sight Day with the theme ‘Eye Care Everywhere’, said a press release.
Prime Minister’s International Affairs Adviser Gowher Rizvi addressed the discussion as the chief guest while former Health and Family Welfare Affairs Adviser to the Prime Minister Dr Syed Modasser Ali, Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology Vice-President Dr Ava Hossain and Ophthalmology Society of Bangladesh President Dr Sharfuddin Ahmed were present as the special guests.
About 89 percent of the vision impaired people live in low and middle-income countries, the speakers said.
According to the eye health experts, cataract is the main reason for vision impairment while refractive errors, diabetic retinopathy and childhood blindness are also responsible for it.
They said around 80 percent blindness is avoidable by intervention.
