Govt sets up new commission on World Sight Day

Govt sets up new commission on World Sight Day

Dewi Santoso, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Poor people suffering from eyesight complications and/or
blindness are set to receive free medical care as the government
has promised to raise funds for their operations.

The government inaugurated on Thursday the National Comission
for Eyesight Complication and Blindness (Komnas GPK), which will
act as a coordinator for all activities concerning blindness,
including fundraising and a national education campaign.

Minister of Health Achmad Sujudi said Komnas GPK was necessary
as the country's blindness rate stood at 1.5 percent (or 3.15
million people) of its total 210 million population -- far behind
other countries with similar problems such as Bangladesh (1
percent), India (0.7 percent) and Thailand (0.3 percent).

"The prevalence rate has become a national issue as it exceeds
the acceptable standard set by the World Health Organization
(WHO). We need to take the problem seriously and that is why we
need the Komnas GPK," said Sujudi.

According to WHO, a country with a prevalence rate for
blindness of above 1 percent is considered a national problem.

Sujudi explained that the main reason for the blindness was
caused by cataract (0.78 percent), with the rest caused by aging
(0.38 percent), glaucoma (0.20 percent) and eye refractory errors
(0.14 percent).

Data from the Ministry of Health show that each year, the
incidence of blindness caused by cataract is estimated at 0.1
percent (around 210,000 people) per year.

Cataract is a clouding of part or all of the lens inside the
eye, resulting in blurred or distorted vision.

"However, the country is able to perform cataract surgery for
only 80,000 people a year, leaving the other 130,000 untreated,
due to limited number of ophthalmologists and a lack of funds,"
Sujudi told the media on the sidelines of the inauguration of the
Komnas GPK, done on World Sight Day, which falls on the second
Thursday of October each year.

There are currently only 750 ophthalmologists in the country.

"Thus, the government plans to increase the number of
ophthalmologists by 250 per year, from currently 50 per year,"
said Sujudi.

This, he said, was in line with WHO's Vision 2020: The Right
To Sight -- a goal in which nearly full sight is achieved by the
year 2020.

"The Komnas GPK will also hold a national campaign that will
communicate to the public about efforts to eradicated blindness
as well as raise funds for free cataract surgery for the poor,"
he said.

He added that Komnas GPK was also expected to provide the
public with information on blindness in general and cataract in
particular.

The Komnas GPK has 11 members, with Tjahjono D. Gondhowiardjo
as chairman; Siti Zainar and Johan A. Hutauruk as secretaries;
Setiowati Suharjono as treasurer; and Adnan Buyung Nasution,
Darwan M. Purba, Guntur Bambang Hamurwono, Umar Wahid, Parni
Hadi, Yan Darmadi and Agus Martowardojo as members.