Eye care services for the urban poor in Dhaka city
Few years back Shefali, a 48-old widow became almost blind due to cataract. She plunged into deep uncertainty when she was losing her eye sight. At this condition, DUCECP provided her with free eye care services through a successful cataract operation that restored her eyesight completely. Shefali is now an inspiration of success. "I regained a new life" excited Shefali expressed her emotion- "Now I can continue with my vegetable trading easily which is crucial for the survival of my family".
Bangladesh National Blindness and Low Vision Survey 2003 revealed that more than 64,000 people in Dhaka city are blind; of these numbers 50,400 are due to cataract. Around 10,000 new cases of cataract blindness occur every year. 330,000 adults and 120,000 children suffer from severe visual impairment caused by uncorrected refractive error, which could be easily corrected with the use of spectacles. To address these huge demands of eye care services for hardcore poor and vulnerable people living in the capital city, Sightsavers International with financial support of the 'Seeing is Believing' initiatives of Standard Chartered Bank Ltd. initiated Dhaka Urban Comprehensive Eye Care Project (DUCECP) in October 2008. Target population of the project include urban poor, especially day labourers, rickshaw pullers, school children, bus drivers, garments factory workers, household workers, beggars, women headed household members, disabled, red card holders of Urban Primary Health Care Project (UPHCP), vendors etc. who cannot afford the proper eye treatment they need. Like Shefali (seen in the photo), more than 0.3 million slum dwellers and poor people living in Dhaka city have been provided eye care services so far through this project. Around 37,000 cataract operations were conducted so far. It has also provided training and orientation to physicians and field employees of partner NGOs. A total of 2000 employees of NGOs have been trained on improved eye care service at different levels. Apart from physical eye care service through organising more than 1,300 eye camps in the city, DUCECP is trying to promote software services to ensure sustainable eye health among the poor. It has been conducting motivational activities in slums with the support from its 55 collaborative partner NGOs; disseminating eye care messages using different media. Sometimes, people do not get proper care due to lack of knowledge about the service. DUCECP wants to let the poor urban dwellers know about their free eye care services that could made a significant difference in the lives of blind people.
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