Free eye checkup for children on World Sight Day

Kathmandu: The Nepal Netra Jyoti Sangh is going to conduct a free eye check-up camp for children on October 9.

The Sangh, through its network of 28 eye hospitals and 160 eye treatment centres, will be organizing free eye check-ups for children across the country, marking World Sight Day, according to Dr Shailesh Kumar Mishra, Executive Director of the Sangh.

The Day is observed every second Thursday of October in a bid to raise awareness about the importance of eyes and vision. Problems relating to vision impairment and blindness will also be shared.

Since the coming Thursday is a public holiday due to the Dashain festival, the eye checkup will be held a day in advance, the Sangh said. Children below 15 years of age can benefit from this camp.

‘Considering the growing cases of vision impairment among children in the world in recent days, we are going to celebrate World Sight Day with high priority to children’s eye health,’ added Bharat Bahadur Chand, General Secretary of the Sangh. It is estimated that over 1.1 million children in Nepal are experiencing various forms of vision impairment.

Among them, around 700 thousand are still deprived of eye care treatment. The World Health Organization and the International Agency for Prevention of Blindness have been jointly observing the Day.

This year there is a special focus on children’s eye health and thus the slogan for this year’s World Sight Day is-‘Take special care of children’s eyes’.

RSS