Staff Reporter
ERODE: Ophthalmic surgeons should devote their attention to popularising eye donations in urban and rural areas, said the Secretary to the Government Health and Family Welfare V.K. Subburaj on Friday night.
He was inaugurating the three-day 55th annual conference of Ophthalmic Association, at Erode. In Tamil Nadu, one lakh persons were waiting for eye donation, but only 30,000 eyes were available for use in eye operations.
The Health Secretary said that there were 45 million visually impaired people in the world, of which India accounted for nine million.
But most of the cases of visual impairment were preventable, for which all steps had been taken in Tamil Nadu in 1972, leading to the percentage of such persons being less in the State compared to the whole of the country.
During this year, 25 lakh schoolchildren would be screened for eye diseases in their respective schools.
Allocation
Mr. Subburaj said that for this year, the Tamil Nadu Government had allocated Rs. 37 crore for control of visual impairment and four eye banks to be opened in Coimbatore, Salem, Madurai and another place.
He said that every year in Tamil Nadu, five lakh cataract surgeries were conducted. Out of this, non-Governmental organizations were performing 2.5 lakh such operations, and private doctors were carrying out 1.5 lakh surgeries.
He said the cooperation from non-Governmental organisations and private ophthalmic surgeons was at a high level in Tamil Nadu.
Mr. Subburaj wanted ophthalmic surgeons to do more service to needy rural people and also create awareness on eye donation.
People should take proper care of their health and go for regular health check-ups, for diabetes was a problem that affected the eyes as well.
At the world level, 38 million people were affected by cardiac problems, 65 million by diabetes and one million by cancer.
Further, the World Health Organisation and others had predicted that this number was likely to go up several-fold by 2015, so it is necessary that everyone should take care of their health.
He lauded the Tamil Nadu Ophthalmic Association for its sincere and selfless service to the needy poor.
The Erode District Collector T. Udhaychandran inaugurated the expo and said Erode district has achieved a large number of cataract operations and also screening of school children. Erode district was setting an example to others regarding eye operations and eye check-ups in children.