CHILDHOOD BLINDNESS
CHILDHOOD CATARACT BLINDNESS, IF LEFT UNTREATED, CAN LEAD TO PERMANENT BLINDNESS.
What are the barriers towards uptake of cataract surgeries in the developing world?
During an interview with Dr. Rojeeta Parajuli, a pediatric ophthalmologist at Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology and a Tej Kohli and Ruit Foundation partner doctor, there are three reasons that prevent the cure of cataract blindness in children:
Awareness:
Many families are often unaware of the options available for their children’s blindness. According to Dr. Parajuli, it is crucial for families to identify their children’s visual impairment early on and seek treatment promptly to prevent future complications. Dr. Parajuli recommends educating parents early in the child’s life about the significance of eye health to empower them to make eye health a priority.
Accessibility:
In developing countries such as Nepal, where eye hospitals are already limited, points of care that provide specialised eye care services for children are further restricted and mostly only available in large cities. Often, families with children who are living with unnecessary blindness inhabit remote outback regions, far from hospitals. This acts as an additional obstacle to the implementation of childhood cataract surgeries in the developing world.
Affordability:
For families living in extreme poverty in the developing world, the cost of surgery can be as high as USD 150 per eye, which is out of most families reach. Unable to afford surgery, children continue to live a life of needless blindness and will inevitably become permanently blind.
What is the Tej Kohli & Ruit Foundation doing to help end poverty induced cataract blindness in children?
The Tej Kohli & Ruit Foundation has committed to reverse at least 1,000 children of cataract blindness by 2026 in Nepal, and has plans to further accelerate its program on the prevention and cure of early childhood cataracts in other parts of the developing world.
Besides investing in the reversal of blindness to help lift families and communities from extreme poverty, the Tej Kohli & Ruit Foundation also helps in raising awareness within families via counseling during screening camps, and helps improve accessibility by taking eye care to communities.
