‘Corneal blindness backlog free’ campaign underway in Tirap

KHONSA, 20 Nov: A five-day ‘corneal blindness backlog free’ campaign for detection and treatment of people with cataract is underway in Tirap district.

Team(s) from the health department are visiting all the villages in the district to screen visually impaired persons aged 50 years and above for cataract from 18 to 22 of November. The cataract surgery will be done at the general hospital here on 28 and 29 of November. The patients will be picked up and dropped back home after the surgery.

Tirap DC (i/c) Lim Modi, who launched the campaign on 18 November, exhorted the health workers to visit every village, “so that every single case with cataract is detected, operated upon and vision restored.”

National Programme for Control of Blindness & Visual Impairment SPO Dr Taba Khanna said that, due to Covid-19, many people with corneal blindness were left undetected in the country and Arunachal Pradesh, as well. He informed that the health & family welfare ministry has set a target of 27,000 cataract surgeries in Arunachal till 2025.

DMO Dr Niba Lowang and DRCHO Dr Tatok Gao also attended the programme. (DIPRO)