Help a senior Citizen for Cataract Surgery

Globally, 285 million people are visually impaired, 90% of which are from developing countries[1]. Uncorrected refractive errors are the main causes of visual impairment with cataracts being the leading cause of blindness in developing countries. Other causes of blindness include glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, corneal opacities, diabetic retinopathy, trachoma, and eye conditions in children. Age-related blindness is increasing throughout the world, as is blindness due to uncontrolled diabetes. However, three-quarters of all blindness can be prevented or treated.

 

8.5% of Indian people above 50 years of age are blind with 2 million going blind as a result of cataract. This accounts for 81% of all cases of blindness in the country. Other causes of blindness include Refraction error (7%), Corneal opacity (3%), Glaucoma (2%), Infections (0.2%), Vitamin A deficiency (0.04%). Further causes include Retinopathies (Diabetes, Hypertension), Retinal Detachments and Tumours[2]. 

The Need for Eye-Care in the Sundarbans

 

In the Sundarbans, due to a lack of food, many families do not have a balanced diet and they are often deprived of necessary vitamins and other nutrients that are important for maintaining healthily eyes. They work long hours in physically demanding jobs such as agriculture and fishing. They are exposed to harmful UV radiation from direct and reflected sunlight for long hours. Students study in homes or hostels under low light, such as kerosene lamps or candles.

 

There are no eye-care facilities in the Sundarbans and as a result, people have no choice but to ignore eye complaints. A simple foreign body injury to the cornea (which is common in the locality), can render a person unable to work, reducing food security for the whole family. Every year thousands of elderly men and women have to travel to Kolkata for cataract or dacrocystitis/ ptrygium/ chalazion surgery or even simple syringing. This is expensive and is only an option for the very few. Thousands more cases are untreated and as a result, these people lose their sight. Particularly the poor and very poor population suffers most, as they cannot afford to travel and get treated in distant places. In a survey of the project area we have found that 29% of the patients simply wait for natural cure – whenever they realize they have some sort of Health problem. Others go for cheap traditional remedies – including witchcraft / faith healing. ‘Modern treatment’ is available, on credit, through untrained quacks, who make a fortune by fully utilizing the vacuum.

 

Children are also at risk. Inadequate diet and a lack of nutritional supplements results, in Vitamin A deficiency, a leading cause of blindness among children. In addition to this, several hundred children go blind from accidental injuries to the eye.

 

In every month, approximately 1000 people are expected to be reached through the vision centers & Health center OPD. From these 1000 people and from OPD services at the hospital, it is expected that an approximate no. of 60 patients every month will be referred to the hospital for surgery. Number of patients will increase over time, as the coverage increases and spreads to adjacent blocks.

We wish to provide below mention services through the vision centers & Health center OPD

·        Outreach camp through Vision Center

·        Surgery  of Cataract, Squint, Pterygium, Chalazion, Glaucoma surgery

·        Surgery of DCR, DCT, Enucleating 

Services is provided with a low-cost rate, ensuring that they are affordable and accessible to communities. For Above Poverty Line (APL), there will be no subsidized rate.

we expect to provide services below:

1.      12,000 people access OPD facility per year

2.      11,000 people attend eye-care camps per year

3.      600 cataract patients per year

4.      2000 non cataract ophthalmic cases