By Tricitynews
Chandigarh 28th Dec:- Dr. VK Raju, an eminent
ophthalmologist based in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA held a meeting with
Chandigarh Ophthalmological Society here on December 28 to discuss ways and
means to prevent avoidable blindness among Children in the States of Punjab and
Haryana,
The President of Chandigarh
Ophthalmological Society Dr. Suresh Kumar Gupta in his welcome address to Dr. VK
Raju described him as a crusader for prevention of childhood blindness who has
for forty years relentlessly worked across the world, particularly in India and
saved thousands from going blind.
Dr. Gupta briefly described the
enormous work Dr. VK Raju has done. Dr. VK Raju began the work of the Eye
Foundation of America (EFA) in 1977 by offering eye camps. The West Virginia
Ophthalmology Foundation was subsequently created in 1982 and became the EFA in
1992. The realization of vision Dr. Raju, the EFA, has a reach that currently
extends to 30 plus developing countries and the USA. The EFA has served
approximately 3 million patients and performed 300,000 plus vision-saving
surgeries, with 30,000 plus surgeries performed on children alone.
Dr. VK Raju received standing
ovation from around 60 members of Society present. Dr. Gupta offered the
Society’s cooperation and partnership in any project that Dr. VK Raju had in
mind.
Dr. VK Raju gave a presentation on
childhood blindness and dwelt on the work the Eye Foundation of America had
done in the last forty years. He spoke feelingly about the tragedy of childhood
blindness. Combating childhood is my passion. It is a small world and it is
getting smaller and smaller. Our Foundation- the Eye Foundation of America
works in over 25 countries to combat childhood blindness.
Dr. VK Raju said that since its
inception, the EFA has facilitated 600 plus physician exchanges and trained 200
plus ophthalmologists, equipping these medical practitioners with the tools to
join the global fight against blindness. The EFA not only trains medical
practitioners to join the global fight against blindness through exchange
programs, but also provides workshops and training opportunities for medical
students and physicians. His charisma and vision inspire the EFA trainees
return to their native countries to prevent and/or alleviate blindness in the
field. For example, India and Ghana are actively engaged in avoidable blindness
elimination projects with cooperation from their governments. In 2016 in India,
4,889 vision and 374 retinopathy of prematurity screenings were conducted, 779
eyeglasses were distributed, and 162 pediatric surgeries were performed. In
Ghana in 2016, the Avoidable Blindness Elimination Project and the World Sight
Day Kids Funfair screened 9,763 people, including 7,453 children, and detected
ophthalmologic diseases in more than 1,000 individuals who consequently
received treatment, which included 157 surgeries. More than 20,000 children
received vision screenings in Ghana schools, eyeglasses and follow-up care were
provided when necessary.
The EFA mission is to eliminate
avoidable blindness under the guiding principles of service, teaching, and
research. This is accomplished through eye camps and masonry hospitals in
developing countries, training of medical personnel to serve the needy, and
educating the population at large on preventative eye care and healthy
lifestyle choices. Dr. VK Raju quotes his mentor in London as saying there are
3 solutions for any problem. The first is education, the second is education,
and the third is education. With this education, patients are empowered to take
charge of their lives and their own health and prevent further deleterious
consequences of their poor lifestyle choices, while sharing this knowledge with
their friends and families.
When education and preventative
measures are insufficient, medical and surgical interventions are performed.
With the aim of permanently providing world-class state-of-the art services to
populations with poor access to health care, the EFA helped to build 2
hospitals in rural India, namely the Srikiran Eye Institute and the Goutami Eye
Institute. The Goutami Institute has a wing dedicated to exclusively to
children, and the EFA has future plans to build a service and research eye
hospital in India where no child will be denied treatment and children from
around the world can come to receive services. Dr. Raju and the EFA are also
committed to finding new cures for age-old eye disease in children.
For long we at the Eye Foundation
of America studied childhood blindness in Punjab and Haryana. We found the two
states and the neighboring Himachal have a high incidence of childhood
blindness. Th already alarming figures are expected to double by 2015.
Obviously, these States need attention with regard to providing facilities and
services to prevent blindness among children.
Dr. VK Raju appealed to the members
of Chandigarh Ophthalmological Society to extend a hand of cooperation to the
Eye Foundation of America to combat the serious situation of childhood
blindness in the region.
Thanking Dr. Gupta and the
Chandigarh Ophthalmological Society. Dr. VK Raju said that he was overwhelmed
by the concern the medical fraternity felt on the issue and appreciated the
members for their offer of cooperation in his projects.
Dr, VK Raju also thanked the
veteran journalist Prabhjot Singh, Vineet Joshi and Devinder Sharma for making
his meeting possible with the Chandīgarh Ophthalmological Society and the
media.
He said that he will be happy to
meet with Punjab, Haryana and Himachal State government officials to work with
them on the project.
