Globally, about 135 million people have low vision. The World Health Organization (WHO) says that 80% of this visual loss can be prevented or cured. Hence WHO has joined hands with the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) for a programme called VISION 2020: The Right to Sight.
In India, 13 lakhs are born blind, and 76 lakhs are suffering from easily treatable methods. By setting up ‘vision centres’ in rural areas and towns, by setting up well-equipped ophthalmic hospitals with able ophthalmologists, these sufferers can have the Right to Sight. Indeed, this is happening across the country. In addition, some globally recognised ‘State of the Art’ eye institutions are actively working on Vision 2020, and it appears achievable — Pashyantu Sarvejanah, or ‘so that all may see’.
The L.V. Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI), Hyderabad, where I work, sees on an average about 1,200 patients daily, and about 100 of them are infected in the eye with bacteria, fungi or viruses. My colleague, Dr Savitri Sharma, had earlier reviewed such infections in India. He is recognised as the global expert on what is known as the ocular microbiome.
