The Prevention of Blindness Week campaign is planned by the Government of India which is held from 1st to 7th April for increasing the awareness towards the blind people. Blindness is a big issue and painful condition for the people who are suffering from it which cannot be felt by those who have eyes. Though the campaign has been organized to aware almost all citizens all across the country in order to understand the value of eyes for the blind people. India has a lot of people who are blind by birth or because of the accident.
There are 10 million people who are suffering from the blindness in our country. The worldwide number of the blind people is approximately 37 million. The government of India has organized a campaign to aware the people as well as offer better opportunities to the blind people by establishing the variety of institutes, agencies, hospitals etc. Through the week people get education related to healthcare and eye care. At some places in India the affected people do protest for their right which must be available to them.
Some of the educational institutional are dedicated to offer the education to the blind students but still they need more attention. In order make the campaign successful, the various departments, publication houses, NGOs should have to work together. Eye donation is the most effective way to provide real support to the blind people as well as bring a permanent light in their dark life. The aim of the campaign is to pay attention over various risk factors that lead to the eye injuries which can cause visual impairment. People need education of all possible eye problems, complications including the periodic eye checkup from an ophthalmologist, nearest eye clinics, which facilitates checkup facility.
The campaign involves well educated health personnel from the government departments, voluntary agencies and state health education bureau which are working to increase the awareness towards program. It is very necessary to alert and awaken the people about all the factors causing blindness. According to the statistics it has been noted that India has the largest number of blind people. And almost one among the three is blind. The major causes of the blindness are trachoma, cataract, vitamin A deficiency, malnutrition including the shortage of optometrists and donated eye. Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are most affected states with blindness.
Prevention of Blindness Week was first started by the Jawaharlal Nehru and Raj Kumari Amrit Kaur in the year 1960 under the Societies Registration Act of 1860. Another campaign “The Right to Sight” was launched by the WHO for the prevention of the blindness.
Varieties of events and activities are organized by the Government and non Government institutions and organizations on the day:
- Community health centers are organized in order to offer the free educational material, knowledge of eye care, eye ailments, free eye check up of the refractive errors, cataract detection as well as offering free eye spectacles to the affected person.
- Free eye camps are held to provide eye health education, preventing measures of the congenital eye diseases through the rubella and measles vaccination.
- Varieties of posters, leaflets are displayed at the schools for better awareness.
- Various eye camps are organized for the better awareness among people for the eye and cornea donation for being transplanted to the needed one.