Only 60 per cent kids got free glasses under scheme

The state health department has fallen short of its target to provide free spectacles to more than 84,000 schoolchildren under the National Blindness Control Programme (NBCP) with only 60 per cent of the estimated children getting the benefit so far.

Under National Blindness Control Programme (NBCP), the state health department was supposed to provide free spectacles to more than 84,000 school children, but the benefit has only been provided to 60 per cent of the targeted

children. According to data procured by The Asian Age, only 51,736 school children studying in government schools have been provided with free spectacles while 32,544 children were left out.

“The prime focus of the project is to prevent children from going completely blind. In 80 per cent of the cases, we have seen that blindness can be prevented with precautionary measures. Hence, the project was started to provide free spectacles to schoolchildren between the ages of seven and 14,” said Sneha Pednekar, co-ordinator of National Association for the Blind. Under the programme, various non-government organisations (NGO) are given the responsibility to test the sight of schoolchildren and then provide spectacles to them.

“We are given ward-wise responsibility. So, we sent our volunteers to schools according to the wards and submitted a compliance report to the state department,” said Ms Pednekar.

When asked about the failure to meet the target, Dr Sadhna Taide, joint director of non-communicable diseases, who is responsible for the project refused to comment.

Director of health service, Dr Satish Pawar did not respond despite repeated calls. “If a child with a visual problem doesn’t take spectacles at the right time, he/she can develop lazy eye. The eyes might not function properly and might lead to blindness,” said Dr Sandeep Katariya, ophthalmologist, Wockhardt Hospital, Mumbai Central.

The data has the updated record of 2014 and 2015 till August. As per the statistics, Maharashtra has performed one of the worst in India in taking precautionary measures to protect school children from blindness. In fact, states such as Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh with similar targets have performed better than Maharashtra.

India was the first country to launch the programme in 1976, which is completely sponsored by the Centre. As per WHO estimates, the blind population will double by 2020 due to rise in population and longevity.