The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : ‘More efforts needed to eradicate blindness'

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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

‘More efforts needed to eradicate blindness'

Staff Reporter

Yudhvir Award given to ophthalmologist Saibaba Goud

PHOTO: Divya Medikonda

Fighting blindness: Union Minister D. Purandeswari presenting the Yudhvir Memorial Foundation Award to A. Saibaba Goud, founder chairman of Devnar Foundation for the Blind, in Hyderabad on Saturday.

HYDERABAD: Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development D. Purandeswari has observed that the National Programme for Control of Blindness (NPCB) launched in 1976 has fallen short of its expectations as the prevalence of blindness in the country continues to remain high.

Delivering the Yudhvir Foundation annual lecture after presenting the Yudhvir Award to well-know ophthalmologist A. Saibaba Goud here on Saturday, the Union Minister said cases of blindness had come down just by 0.1 per cent during 2001-2006 from 1.1 per cent. The NPCB was launched with the aim of bringing down the prevalence of blindness to 0.3 per cent in 20 years.

Blindness was not just a simple disability but it had far reaching consequences on the national GDP, which was often neglected or overlooked by the people. Stating that glaucoma, trachoma, cataract and vitamin-A deficiency were main causes of blindness the Minister said it needed to be tackled in three-pronged strategy of prevention, intervention and rehabilitation. Malnutrition was another major cause for the disease as India had the highest number of women and children suffering lack of good nutrition. Even the sub-Saharan countries had fewer people affected by malnutrition, she pointed out.

Dr. Goud said after receiving the award, instituted in memory of Yudhvir, freedom fighter and founder of Hindi Milap, that it would inspire him to work with more zeal in fighting blindness. His Devnar Foundation had started a school for the blind in 1992 only with four children and it had 450 of them now. He donated the prize money of Rs. 50,000 to the school.

Chairman of Yudhvir Foundation Narendra Luther and others also spoke.

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