Aravind Eye Care System [to 22 November 2014]

Enhancing Eye Care Delivery in the Underserved Regions
LAICO, October 31- November 1
It is estimated that in India over six million cataract surgeries are done annually, resulting in a Cataract Surgical Rate (CSR)of about 5,000. While such a CSR rate is very impressive, especially amongst the developing countries, we have to recognize that about half of the states and districts would be performing less than this average, with some of the districts with very low performance. A more serious implication of this is the fact that the people in those districts, for no fault of theirs are denied the eye care that they need. The time has come to act again to address the disparity in services across districts. The workshop “Serving the Underserved Regions through District Planning 2.0” deliberated on the ground realities and practical challenges faced by underserved districts and develop an appropriate intervention model that could be deployed for enhancing eye care delivery in the states of Assam, Tripura, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa and Karnataka. The participants included major eye care providers from these states, representatives from Ministry of Health, senior representatives from the National Program for the Control of Blindness (NPCB), Govt. of India and various States as well as haeds of INGOs and representatives from V2020. The workshop sponsored by Centre for Innovation in Public Systems (CIPS), Sightsavers, V2020 India and Seva Foundation, USA.

As part of the workshop, Dr. Jayanti S Ravi, a senior IAS officer and Labour Commissioner, Govt. of Gujarat shared her thoughts on Dr. G. Venkataswamy, the founder of Aravind Eye Hospitals, through a blended genre of music and stories. The programme held at Aravind’s research institute was truly profound and it gave an opportunity to reflect on Dr. V in a totally philosophical manner.