Visual impairment and blindness are the major public health problems worldwide. An estimated 36 million people are blind (about 1 in every 200 people), 217 million people with severe or moderate visual impairment (distance) and 252 million people are visually impaired in the world. A total of 89% of visually impaired people live in low and lower-middle-income countries and 55% of visually impaired people are women(Rupert, 2017). Additionally, 1.2 billion people don’t have access to eyeglasses. Over 3 out of 4 (>75%) of the world’s vision impaired are avoidable (Vision 2020 newsletter, July 2018).
In Nepal, over 200,000 people are blind and 3,557,000 people are visually impaired. In State number 3, estimated over 44,000 people are blind and 650,000 people are visually impaired. Additionally, over 540,000 people require spectacle services in this state.
Similarly, (estimated) over 3,000 people need cataract surgery and over 100,000 people require spectacles in Lalitpur district. However there is no data available for eye health services in this district, about 15% of the affected people receive the eye check-up and spectacle services in a year.
This center was established in September 2015. Till the end of June 2018, over six thousand patient received their eye check up and over a hundred patients received their sight restoration service.
The model eye center has been established to provide high-quality eye health care services to the urban and rural communities of Kathmandu valley and its escort. Though this center is a private institution, it provides the eye health service to all group of people who can afford or not.
This center has a dedicated team of ophthalmic personnel with full time & part time Public Health consultant, consultant Ophthalmologists, Ocularist, Optometrist, Ophthalmic assistant, and Optician.
This center welcomes to private, public organizations and individuals for the partnership in reducing the avoidable blindness and visual impairment by establishing a sustainable model of eye health institution in rural and urban areas.