THE rate of blindness in Bangladesh has dropped by 35 per cent over the last two decades. A national survey states that although the rate of blindness has fallen, 19 per cent of the population aged 30 and above still suffers from different types of visual impairment. The global rate of such cases is 30 per cent. The study suggests that more than 80 per cent of blindness cases are avoidable with timely intervention. The Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB), with technical and financial support from the National Eye Care, conducted the survey aimed at finding the prevalence of blindness and visual impairment among the population aged 30 and above and their causes. According to the report, the prevalence of blindness from cataract was one percent which comes to 534,000 people.
Blindness means inability to count fingers from a distance of 10 feet in daylight while visual impairment means vision-related problems. Spectacle coverage was found to be 26 percent among the people aged over 30 years. The survey recommended that a planned approach be taken for managing eye diseases to reduce eye health morbidity. Eye care services could be expanded by establishing community vision centres in all upazila health complexes across the country. The government initiated the National Eye Care programme in 2005 with a target to reduce blindness by 50 per cent aligning with the global target of Vision 2020, aimed at eliminating avoidable blindness around the world.
That Blindness is decreasing in the country is great news. Our progress in this regard is very satisfactory. Still, there is a concern about impairment of vision, but it is not a threat to public health. We can easily prevent it. Family members need to be careful about healthy eyesight by limiting over exposure to tv screens, low and high light, and by increasing healthy food intake. Nationwide vitamin A mandatory supplement has helped a lot and should be continued. We should improve eye health for the next generation by taking effective measures.
