Vision 2020 campaign fights for people's right to sight<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): People's ignorance about eye care, poor
\nnutrition and the inadequate number of ophthalmologists combine
\nto keep the incidence of preventable blindness high in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The World Health Organization (WHO) says an estimated three
\nmillion of Indonesia's 206 million people are blind. And even
\nworse, this number increases by 600 every day.<\/p>\n
To reverse this trend, WHO and the Global Task Force, which
\nincludes several non-governmental organizations, launched last
\nweek a national drive called Vision 2020, to help eliminate
\npreventable blindness in Indonesia. The time frame to achieve
\nthis goal is 20 years, or in the year 2020.<\/p>\n
The campaign was launched by Vice President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri on Feb. 15, the day after the Intercountry
\nConsultation on the Development of Regional Strategy for Vision
\n2020 opened. The meeting ended on Feb. 17.<\/p>\n
WHO Southeast Asia regional director Uton Muchtar Rafei said
\nthat in this day and age, with major advances in medical
\ntechnology, \"it is unacceptable that we have not been able to
\nbetter control preventable blindness. It is unacceptable that
\neven today, millions who could be saved go blind\".<\/p>\n
There are 45 million blind people in the world today and there
\nare three times as many people with impaired vision. Of this
\nnumber, 15 million, or nearly one-third of the world's total
\nnumber of blind people, live in Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n
According to WHO, most cases of blindness can be prevented or
\ncured. These include blindness caused by cataracts and Vitamin A
\ndeficiency, and childhood blindness. Trachoma and glaucoma also
\naccount for a number of cases of blindness in the country.<\/p>\n
\"Unfortunately, many are severely disabled visually from
\neasily correctable or preventable causes. Some cannot see merely
\nbecause they do not have a pair of glasses to correct the
\nrefractive error,\" Uton said in a speech at the launch of the
\nVision 2020 campaign.<\/p>\n
Ninety percent of the cases of blindness in the region are
\npreventable or curable at very modest costs, according to Uton.<\/p>\n
He said those suffering blindness from cataracts could easily
\nbe cured through a simple surgery. A quick operation can be
\nperformed to remove the cataract and insert a lens for as little
\nas US$15.<\/p>\n
\"Yet it is hard to believe that we have close to 10 million
\npeople in our region who have gone blind due to cataracts,\" Uton
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
In Indonesia -- the country with the third highest incidence
\nof blindness in the world -- there are at least 1.5 million
\ncataract cases.<\/p>\n
\"There is a need to increase the number of people who can be
\ntrained to perform this simple operation. Without an increase in
\nthe number of service providers, thousands will remain
\npermanently blind,\" Uton said.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's some 500 ophthalmologists perform around 40,000
\ncataract operations per year -- lower than in Bangladesh and
\nThailand, where 60,000 cataract operations are performed each
\nyear.<\/p>\n
Around 630,000 cataract operations per year need to be
\nperformed to cure the 1.5 million Indonesians suffering from
\ncataracts.<\/p>\n
\"At the present rate of 40,000 cataract operations per year,
\nit will take 25 to 30 years to clear the backlog of 1.5 million
\ncataract cases,\" Uton warned.<\/p>\n
But people suffering from cataract can breathe a sigh of
\nrelief. According to the Ministry of Health's director general of
\ncommunity health, Azrul Azwar, the Indonesian Ophthalmologists
\nAssociation has agreed to train general practitioners at
\ncommunity health centers to give them the skill to perform
\ncataract operations.<\/p>\n
\"In the first phase, the ophthalmologists will train the
\ngeneral practitioners practicing in areas which have a high
\nincidence of cataract cases,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Productivity<\/p>\n
According to WHO, the global cost of blindness is around US$25
\nbillion in lost productivity. If the costs of educating and
\nrehabilitating the blind were included, the price would be twice
\nas high. In fact, the worldwide cost would rise to over $75
\nbillion annually if the expense of caregivers was also taken into
\naccount.<\/p>\n
\"In a country like Indonesia, the cost of blindness is
\nestimated to be $1 billion annually in lost productivity and in
\nspecial education and rehabilitation for the blind,\" Uton said.<\/p>\n
He said programs for the prevention and control of blindness
\nwere among the most cost-effective public health interventions.<\/p>\n
\"Blindness aggravates poverty, therefore preventing and
\nrelieving blindness are effective measure of alleviating
\npoverty.\" (ste)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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