Rajasthan
Rajasthan first state to launch independent policy to bring down rate of blindness | Jaipur News
JAIPUR: In a move to combat blindness, the state government will set up keratoplasty or cornea transplant centres and eye banks in all medical colleges as per a policy document released on Friday. The government said that Rajasthan would be the first state in the country to launch an independent policy to prevent and bring down the rate of blindness.
Called the National Blindness Control Programme, it is expected to benefit an estimated three lakh people in the state.
The main objective of the programme is to bring down the rate of blindness in the state from 2.24% (1976) to 0.34%. Currently, the rate is around 1%, said health department officials.
Under the policy, the government will make it mandatory for NGOs, receiving financial grants from the government, to collect cornea from donors for medical colleges.
A campaign will be launched to encourage and scale up eye donations across the state with the help of NGOs, trusts, hospitals, and other charitable organisations. To ramp up cornea transplants keratoplasty centres will be established in all medical colleges, said health secretary Dr Prithvi.
The National Programme for Control of Blindness & Visual Impairment (NPCB & VI) was launched in 1976 to provide comprehensive eye care to all citizens across the country. But Rajasthan will become the first state to have an independent policy to prevent blindness.
Called the National Blindness Control Programme, it is expected to benefit an estimated three lakh people in the state.
The main objective of the programme is to bring down the rate of blindness in the state from 2.24% (1976) to 0.34%. Currently, the rate is around 1%, said health department officials.
Under the policy, the government will make it mandatory for NGOs, receiving financial grants from the government, to collect cornea from donors for medical colleges.
A campaign will be launched to encourage and scale up eye donations across the state with the help of NGOs, trusts, hospitals, and other charitable organisations. To ramp up cornea transplants keratoplasty centres will be established in all medical colleges, said health secretary Dr Prithvi.
The National Programme for Control of Blindness & Visual Impairment (NPCB & VI) was launched in 1976 to provide comprehensive eye care to all citizens across the country. But Rajasthan will become the first state to have an independent policy to prevent blindness.
