World Sight Day is marked in 2014 on October 9, and calls for 'No More Avoidable Blindness'. The World Health Organisation estimates four in five cases of blindness globally are avoidable. http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/in-pics-world-sight-day-aims-at-no-more-avoidable-blindness/article1-1273026.aspx
A student uses a vision aid and glasses to simulate low vision as she takes part in a lesson during the Dr Shroff Charity Eye Hospital Certified Ophthalmic Personnel (COP) training programme in New Delhi. (AFP Photo) Dr Shroff Charity Eye Hospital operates a network of hospitals and vision centres in towns and villages in the states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, and in the capital New Delhi, in an attempt to tackle avoidable blindness. Offering low-cost or pro-bono treatment for conditions like cataracts and glaucoma, staff travel to remote areas to provide check-ups at field camps, and work in vision centres in towns and villages, referring certain cases to larger hospitals. The Shroff network aims extend access to low-cost, high-quality eye care to those who might not normally be able to access or afford it. More women than men suffer problems with eyesight, according to staff at the Dr Shroff Charity Eye Hospital, because of the societal roles they take on. Women traditionally spend a greater amount of time working outdoors, exposed to harsh sunlight and UV rays. They often feed male family members and children first, consuming less-nutritious meals after others have eaten, and cook over naked flames where they exposed to smoke from animal dung, leaves or coal used as fuel. Women also earn less, and live in more unhygienic conditions which can lead to infections, while male family members often relocate to towns or cities for work, where conditions and salaries are better. A patient walks past an examination room as another undergoes an examination at the Dr Shroff Charity Eye Hospital in Alwar in the state of Rajasthan. (AFP Photo) A patient waits to undergo an eye examination at the Dr Shroff Charity Eye Hospital in Alwar in the state of Rajasthan. (AFP Photo) 65-year-old Somoti gestures as she reads letters from an unseen screen during an eye examination at the Dr Shroff Charity Eye Hospital Vision Centre in Malakhera, some 30 kms from Alwar in the state of Rajasthan. (AFP Photo) A patient wipes his eye after receiving an injection there at the Dr Shroff Charity Eye Hospital in Alwar in the state of Rajasthan. (AFP Photo) A patient undergoes an eye examination at the Dr Shroff Charity Eye Hospital Vision Centre in Mustafabad in New Delhi. (AFP Photo -- Avinash Shahi Doctoral student at Centre for Law and Governance JNU Clean India Campaign: Let us also chip in! Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of mobile phones / Tabs on: http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ To unsubscribe send a message to [email protected] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list..
