Cases of blindness halved in Sunderbans in 5 years: NGO Sightsavers

According to the NGO, a research reveals dramatic success of it's programme funded by Standard Chartered.

Sightsavers, an international NGO that works in Sunderbans in partnership with Vivekananda Mission Ashram and Seeing is Believing, has claimed to halve the blindness cases in Sunderbans of West Bengal. The Sundarbans in India have reportedly the highest rate of blindness in the country.

A wide-scale programme, named 'the Sundarbans Eye Health Service Strengthening Project', started in 2013 with the aim of making long-term improvements to eye services for the 4.7 million people living in the Sunderbans, a remote area in the delta region of West Bengal. The project was made possible by funding from Standard Chartered Bank's 'Seeing is Believing' investment programme. One out of every 100 people across India are estimated to be blind, but in the Sunderbans, this figure was doubled.

Though cataract surgery is quick, cheap and can fully restore sight, for many of the poorest people in this remote, island-dotted region it was unaffordable to pay for the treatment or travel to a clinic. To change this situation, Sightsavers and partners developed 17 eye health centres and provided better equipment and training in five hospitals. Disadvantaged people living in the Sundarbans were also informed on how to spot eye health problems.

The project worked with the government by supporting long-term improvements in infrastructure within existing health centres. This included two district government hospitals. Researchers found that before the programme started one in every 40 people over the age of 50 in the region was blind. Today, that number has dropped to one in every 80. The programme also doubled the number of people who said they would visit an eye doctor if they were unable to see clearly and the number of people who are aware that the Indian government offers free cataract surgeries.

Another outcome of the programme was increased government awareness of the need to provide accessible, quality eye care to all. R N Mohanty, Chief Executive officer, Sightsavers India, said, "Good vision is a human right, not a luxury: eye care services should be affordable and within reach to anyone. We want governments and donors to see that health services are not complete unless they have eye health facilities. The 'Seeing is Believing' research proves what is possible in just a few years with the right approach. Five years ago, there were almost no easily accessible quality eye care facilities in the region, but now some of the Sunderbans most disadvantaged people know they can get their eyes checked by a qualified professional at a vision centre just 5-8 km from their homes,".

Sudipta Mohanty, Area Director of Sightsavers India East office added, "We now need both government and non-governmental stakeholders to step up to ensure that we don't slide back into a situation where there is a large backlog of cataracts surgeries and other preventable eye conditions,".

(With inputs from NGO Sightsavers)