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| By Subhojit Goswami |
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Thursday, August 20, 2009 (09:45:01) |
| Tags : Health, Eye diseases, Lions Clubs International |
Lions Clubs' SightFirst initiative is 'conquering blindness'
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| Kolkata: Around 4 lakh eye surgeries every year, 30 million eye sights restored till recently, 150 eye hospitals across the country, and collaboration with World Health Organization to combat childhood blindness partly sums up what Lions Clubs International has been persistently doing ever since its inception of SightFirst mission in 1989. An assemblage of visionary people dedicated to restore the sight of those with problematic vision, the whole SightFirst fraternity of Lions Clubs International has been making optimum utilization of their combined experience, mutual resources and other inputs to wipe out the menace called 'preventable blindness'.
In the 3rd SightFirst Conclave held on Wednesday at Bengal Chamber of Commerce, Kolkata, all the dignitaries had gathered to highlight on the noble undertaking they have been sustaining for two decades.
Addressing the august guests, Lion Bishnu Bajoria, Director of Lions Clubs International, revealed that the noble errand of SightFirst was an answer to legendary Helen Keller's call in 1925 to save the world from getting blind. Highlighting the magnanimity of this SightFirst programme, Mr Bajoria added that around $200 million has been spent to develop the infrastructure of the eye hospitals and out of 4 lakhs eye surgeries done every year, almost 70 percent of them are done free of cost.
Taking the cue from him, Dr Divyesh P.Shah, the Technical Advisor of SightFirst, explained that this noble programme has been responsible in undertaking thousands of successful cataract surgeries at subsidized rate every year. He also harped on the fact that the members have always been active participants in the process as most of them are also involved in the core administration process. Their responsibility is not confined to funding only. He further added that it is now a matter of imperative concern for the members to ensure that the programme is able to sustain both the quality and quantity aspect of these surgeries. He pointed out the concerted effort that SightFirst has given towards reaching the rural children with eye-sight problem and screening more than 5 lakhs children in their Sight for Kids Programme in association with Johnson and Johnson.
The presence of Hon'ble Minister of State for Health & Family Welfare, Govt of India, Shri Dnesh Trivedi, boosted the purport of the conclave as he expressed his heartfelt thanks to Lions Clubs International and its SightFirst wing for the meticulous execution of their mission.
Declaring his past association with Round Table Organization and Rotary Club during his days in Chicago, Trivedi added that he is emotionally attached towards this cause. Urging Lions Clubs to take advantage of numerous schemes launched by the Central Government during the 11th Five year plan, the Minister stated that multiple initiatives taken by SightFirst have been phenomenal in reaching out to the people to control blindness. He also highlighted that present challenges for the organizations like Lions Clubs is to tackle several other eye diseases like Glaucoma, Diabetic Retinopathy and others apart from the preventable blindness.
The conclave also witnessed the announcement of a Pilot Project to detect and treat patients having Diabetic Retinopathy, the prime cause for avoidable blindness. Case studies on 8 SightFirst Hospitals were showcased during the meet, and the future roadmap of better infrastructure and expansion of screening programmes. It is through building hospitals and clinics, training doctors and eyecare professionals, distributing medication and supporting cataract surgeries, that Lions Clubs SightFirst is conquering blindness. |
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