Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda sought L.V. Prasad Eye Institute’s cooperation in Government of India’s eye-care-related programmes on Saturday. He was speaking at an event organised to mark two decades of the institute’s community eye-care programme.
“You have restricted yourself to Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Odisha. You can work pan-India and the government needs your support. I can help,” Mr. Nadda said while outlining the Ayushmaan Bharat scheme that includes eye-care.
LVPEI’s community eye-care programme, Gullapali Pratibha Rao International Centre for Advancement of Rural Eye Care (GPRICARE), marked two decades of its institution, which was celebrated on Saturday. Two books were released on the occasion.
Speaking at the event, Governor of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, E.S.L. Narasimhan, suggested that eye-care be integrated with institutional deliveries.
“Institutional deliveries are now happening in large numbers. Since many conditions of the eye can be present at birth, eye-care can be integrated at government primary health centres to tackle problems early,” he said.
The World Health Organisation’s Regional Director for South-East Asia, Poonam Khetrapal Singh, and LVPEI’s founder-chairman G.N. Rao, were also present at the event.
