Advanced eye care to be available at upazila: Muhit

Advanced eye care facilities, including separate outpatient and inpatient departments and operating theatres, will be introduced at all 151-bed full-fledged hospitals currently under construction in every upazila, said Health State Minister Dr MA Muhit.

The government is also finalising an integrated ‘National Eye Care Plan’ targeting nearly one million cataract surgeries, distribution of several crore pairs of eyeglasses and treatment for diabetic retinopathy, he said.

The state minister made the remarks as the chief guest at the inauguration of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) ‘SPECS 2030 Initiative’ at the Hotel InterContinental in Dhaka on Tuesday.

He said work was underway to transform upazila health complexes into 151-bed full-fledged hospitals. Advanced eye care facilities would be established in around 500 upazilas so that people in rural areas would not have to travel to district towns or Dhaka for treatment.

Training for 100,000 health workers currently undergoing the government recruitment process will include ‘primary eye care’ as a mandatory component, he said. At the same time, cataract surgery and refraction services would soon be strengthened regularly in at least half of the districts by coordinating the infrastructure of district hospitals.

The state minister said a major project had been undertaken to modernise and expand the National Institute of Ophthalmology and Hospital, which would be implemented soon. The government also plans to highlight Bangladesh’s achievements in eye care globally by utilising the experience of government, private and NGO organisations.

He said the health ministry had been coordinating regularly with international and local organisations over the past six months to improve and expand eye care services. The government aims to bring about a major positive transformation in the country’s eye care sector within the next three to four years.