Eye-care program gets Aussie aid

DENPASAR, Bali: The Australian Agency for International Development has granted Rp 58 million (AS$36,100) to an eye-care center here.

The grant was presented on Tuesday by Australian Consul George Fraser to the Community Eye Care and Blindness Prevention Center which has provided cataract surgery and other eye treatment since it was established in 1991.

The agency has given AS$242,935 to a mobile eye clinic operated by the center, according to a statement released by the Australian Embassy.

The latest grant is to assist the opening of a permanent home for the eye care program here and will enable it to function until funding from the Bali administration becomes available next January.

The center will be staffed by local ophthalmologists trained to use the latest Australian medical technology and equipment to cure blindness which is estimated to affect 1.7 percent of the 2.8 million population of Bali. (01)