In our country Blindness being one of the most critical and permanent ailment poses an increasing threat on these children and is still unable to get the required amount of attention due to lack of awareness and expertise in the area.
Today Indian market is one of the most exciting markets for foreign trade with a large base of knowledge-based industry. Indian industries have emerged as a significant driver of international economy. But poverty still remains a significant problem in India. Increased pace of urbanisation and industrialisation, with the resultant modernisation of families and ever increasing disparity has posed new challenges for people with disabilities.
The number of blind persons in India in 2000 was estimated to be 18.7 million (95% confidence interval [CI]: 15.2-22.3), of which 9.5 million were cataract-related and 3 million refractive error-related. Even if there were no change in the current trend of blindness, the number of blind persons in India would increase to 24.1 million (95% CI: 19.7-28.4) in 2010, and to 31.6 million (95% Cl: 26.4-36.9) in 2020.[1]
Main causes of blindness are as follows: – Cataract (62.6%) Refractive Error (19.70%) Corneal Blindness (0.90%), Glaucoma (5.80%), Surgical Complication (1.20%) Posterior Capsular Opacification (0.90%) Posterior Segment Disorder (4.70%), Others (4.19%) Estimated National Prevalence of Childhood Blindness /Low Vision is 0.80 per thousand.
According to NPCB – WHO survey more then 12 million blind people live in India, that’s about 30% of the world’s total blind population and most of them went blind due to lack of proper information and treatment.
80% of blindness is preventable.
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[1] Estimation of Blindness in India from 2000 through 2020:Implications for the blindness control policy by Dandona L, Dandoan R, John RK. International Centre for Advancement of Rural Eye Care, LV Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad, India. dandona@asci.org.in
