ISLAMABAD: While the International Sight Day (WSD) was observed on Thursday, stakeholders called for better eye care in the country.

Globally, there are 1.1 billion people who have an untreated or preventable visual impairment.

Eye health is as important for children as it is for the elderly. A severe lack in the eye health care in Pakistan is causing unnecessary vision problems for children and the elderly and everyone in between.

International development organization, Sightsavers, in a statement called for better access to eye health services for everyone from children to the elderly.

“Vision problems don’t just affect the elderly, a common misconception. Everyone at some point needs support to maintain good eye health to see the board at school, drive and work and for independence later in life. Yet eye health is a neglected area of healthcare, and people are struggling unnecessarily with avoidable blindness and vision impairment.”

College of Ophthalmology and Allied Vision Sciences and CHIP marked the day by organising free eye screening camps, awareness sessions and walks.

Munazza Gillani, Director Pakistan and Middle East at Sightsavers, said, “Two thirds of people don’t have access to the glasses they need to see clearly. This applies to children as well as adults. The same can be said of treatment for other eye conditions like cataracts which a child can be born with.”

In Pakistan, the numbers are shocking. In 2020, there were an estimated 26 million people with vision loss. Of these, 1.8 million people were blind.

“Sightsavers is working with the Ministry of Health and partners to improve access to quality, affordable eye health services for all.” Recently, WHO had certified Pakistan as a trachoma-free country which is a huge milestone in eye health; however, there is still a long way to go to eliminate avoidable blindness from country, she said.

Across the world, the avoidable vision issues of cataract and uncorrected refractive errors such as short-sightedness are the leading causes of blindness and vision impairment, respectively.

Published in Dawn, October 18th, 2024