AMN
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel today launched a drive to make the state free from cataract and cataract-induced blindness. Speaking on this occasion at a function held at Ahmedabad civil hospital, Mr. Patel said that the state had 0.7 percent blindness cases in 2014 that went down to 0.36 percent in 2018-19. He said that the state has set a target to further bring down the percentage to 0.25 by the year 2025. In a tweet, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya praised the state government for addressing the issue of cataract-induced blindness with a focused approach.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said that the state health department has facilitated all-district and taluka level hospitals with infrastructure and latest equipment for the treatment of cataract. He said the state is leading with over 1000 cataract operations per million population. He said the state government facilitated free-of-cost operations through phacoemulsification, which would otherwise cost up to Rs.50 thousand in private hospitals. He said that Gujarat is the only state in the country that offers free-of-cost hydrophobic intraocular lenses.
Under the special drive launched today, the teams will search out those who are blind due to cataract and those who have less than 3-meter vision in both eyes, in an attempt to free them from blindness.