national blindness control programme

1. National Blindness control programme Presented by- Vikramjit Singh B.Sc. Nursing 3 rd Year Roll No. 09401

2. Simple Definition: 1. Inability of a person to count fingers from a distance of 6 meters or 20 feet Technical Definition: 1. Vision 6/60 or less with the best possible spectacle correction  2. Diminution of field vision to 20 degree or less in better eye

3. Brief introduction of NPCB- National Programme for Control of Blindness was launched in the year 1976 as a 100% Centrally Sponsored scheme with the goal to reduce the prevalence of blindness from 1.4% to 0.3%.

4. Prevalence Rate of B lindness- As per Survey in 2001-02, prevalence of blindness is estimated to be 1.1%. Target for the 10 th Plan is to reduce prevalence of blindness to 0.8% by 2007 prevalence of Blindness is 1% (2006-07 Survey).

5. Main causes of B lindness are as follows:

6. The objectives of the programme are : 1.   To reduce the backlog of blindness through identification and treatment of blind. 2.  To develop Eye Care facilities in every district. 3. To develop human resources for providing Eye Care Services. 4. To improve quality of service delivery. 5.   To secure participation of Voluntary Organizations in eye care.

7. Organizational Structure : For effective coordination and convergence following structure is proposed at various levels under the scheme: (a) Centre Level (b) State Level (c ) District Level

8. Activities- 1. Annual Eye check up of all incumbents of blind schools covering the visual acuity, fundus examinations and other appreciate advance test required to assess chances of visual restoration. 2. Eye check up of applicants who desire to seek admission in a blind school and issue of certificate of incurable blindness recommending admission to a blind school. No person would be admitted to blind school without this certificate. 3. Follow up of treated cases as per recommendation of ophthalmic board. 4. Rehabilitation of incurable blind would be as per scheme of department of social welfare. 5. Low vision Aids to screen all school going children for refractive errors And provide spectacles free of cost. 6. Eye check up of the incumbents of blind schools including special Investigation. 7. 100 percent achievement of Cataract operation of which 90% will be IOL And 10% for simple cataract surgery 2009-10.

9. Strategies- The four pronged strategy of the Programme is: 1. Strengthening service delivery, 2. Developing human resources for eye care, 3. Promoting outreach activities and public awareness, and 4. Developing institutional capacity.

10. Revised strategies- 1. To make the National Blindness Control Programme more comprehensive by strengthening services for other causes of blindness like corneal blindness (requiring transplantation), refractive errors in school going children, improving follow-up services of cataract operated persons and treating other causes of blindness like glaucoma; 2. To shift from eye camp approach to a fixed facility surgical approach and from conventional surgery to IOL implantation for better quality of post operation vision in operation patients; 3. To expand the World Bank project activities like constructions of dedicated eye operation theatres, eye wards at district level, training of eye surgeons, modern cataract surgery, and other eye surgery and supply of ophthalmic equipment, etc. to the whole country. 4. To strengthen participation of voluntary organizations in the programme and to ear-mark geographic areas to NGOs and govt. hospitals and improve the performance of govt. units like medical college, district hospitals, CHC, PHCs etc. 5. To enhance the coverage of eye care services in tribal and other under served areas through identification of bilateral blind patients, preparation of villages wise blind register and giving preference to bilateral blind patients for cataract surgery.

11. It is a global initiative to reduce avoidable (preventable and curable) blindness by the year 2020. India is also committed to this initiative .

12. The plan of action for the country has been developed with following main features : Target diseases are cataract, refractive errors, childhood blindness, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy. Human resource development as well as infrastructure and technology development at various levels of health system. The proposed four tier structure includes Centers of excellence (20), Training centers (200), service centers (2000), and vision centers (20,000).

13. Proposed Structure for Vision 2020: The Right to Sight-

14. Summary- NPCB was launched in the year 1976 as a 100% Centrally Sponsored scheme with the goal to reduce the prevalence of blindness from 1.4% to 0.3%. Main causes of the blindness are Cataract (62.6%) Refractive Error (19.70%) Corneal Blindness (0.90%), Glaucoma (5.80%), Surgical Complication (1.20%) Posterior Capsular Opacification (0.90%) Posterior Segment Disorder (4.70%), Others (4.19%). Main objectives of NPCB are(1) To reduce the backlog of blindness through identification and treatment of blind and (2) To develop Eye Care facilities in every district. NPCB includes functioning at central , state , and district level. Strategies of the programme are 1.Strengthening service delivery,2. Developing human resources for eye care,3. Promoting outreach activities and public awareness, and 4. Developing institutional capacity . To achieve these objectives Mission “Vision 2020: The Right to Sight “ is started.

15. Bibliography- Park.K, Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine, 2o th edition, Published by-M/s Banarsidas Bhanot Page no. referred- 375-377 Websites- www.npcb.in www.doctorshangout.com www.indiangovt.in/npcb

16. Thanking You