<i>Better vision for the future of the nation</i>
Child eye screening camp at Fulpur Pilot High School, Mymensing organised by Mymensing BNSB Eye Hospital supported by ORBIS International, Bangladesh.
Children have different eye problems those are not readily disclosed. They live with it for years together and present very late in many cases where there is very little to do. In Bangladesh there are more than 40,000 blind children (about 8 per 10,000 children) and approximately one million children suffer from refractive error and eye problems. Children suffer from eye problem like low vision, night blindness, lazy eye, cataract and so on. Problems in their eyes also refrain them from going to schools. To address this issue among the school going children, Mymensing BNSB Eye Hospital has taken an excellent initiative of organising eye camps in the schools at remote area of Mymensing. With prior notice they examine the selected students with symptoms in their eyes. At the camps (in the schools) they provide spectacles to correct the refraction errors of the students after vision test at a very reasonable price or free for the poor. Childhood cataracts are operated at free of cost in the BNSB Eye Hospital. The hospital has some other great works providing eye care in the greater Mymensing district. They bring innovation in eye care in the peripheral set-up. People from other districts also visit the hospital for their eye related problems. The school eye camp project of Mymensing BNSB Eye Hospital is supported by the ORBIS International Bangladesh country office. ORBIS is much known for its flying eye hospital that flies from country to country providing world class eye care and train local professionals. ORBIS is a nonprofit, global development organisation whose mission is to eliminate avoidable blindness by strengthening the capacity of local eye health partners in their efforts to prevent and treat blindness. Through the principles of capacity building, local partners gain self-sufficiency in eye health care, and residents enjoy quality eye health services that are affordable, accessible and sustainable. Child eye care needs are complex which require specific interventions and treatment. As per the strategic recommendation of the VISION 2020, it was suggested that Bangladesh needed a minimum of 15 comprehensive eye care centres. Identifying this critical gap ORBIS has established 7 child friendly paediatric eye care units in different geographic location of Bangladesh like Chittagong Eye Infirmary and Training Complex (CITC), Dinajpur BNSB Eye Hospital, Moulovibazar BNSB Eye Hospital, Sylhet M A G Osmani Medical College Hospital, Mymensing BNSB Eye Hospital, Khulna BNSB Eye Hospital and National Institute of Ophthalmology (NIO). From above mentioned centres, people can get quality paediatric eye care. Parents need not make delay if there they observe any abnormality in their child's eye or sight. Young girls are neglected very often throughout the country, as the female are deprived of so many issues in our society. Parents are reluctant or hesitant about the treatment of their daughters' eyes mainly of two reasons — financial crises and social stigma. Financial issues are covered in the mentioned hospitals since there are many projects going on to help the poor. Now it is time to come forward to remove the stigma from the society about treating the avoidable blindness from the children. Sometimes it is very difficult to find out the children with a cataract who cannot go out of his/her house. These noble organisations are doing wonderful job to remove the avoidable blindness from the society. We should help, support and share their efforts.
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