India to provide Nrs 10.27 m for eyecare programme in Nepal

India today pledged to provide Nepal a grant worth Nrs 10.27 million for school eye healthcare programmes which will benefit 1.9 lakh children across the country.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Embassy of India, Kathmandu and Nepal Netra Jyoti Sangh (NNJS), a statement by the mission said.
The MoU will cover the cost for providing 9,000 optical dispensing devices to visually impaired children and 300 Low Vision Dispensing Devices to school-going children in Nepal during the year 2014-15.
Mobile medical teams will visit the scheduled schools and conduct health education sessions for students and parents along with eye examination of school-going children.

The teams would examine around 1,90,000 children during the year.
As part of the India-Nepal Economic Cooperation Programme, the Indian government has been providing assistance to NNJS for School Eye Health Care since 2001.

Under this programme, optical devices and spectacles have been distributed to over 37,000 school-going children.
A mobile eyecare van duly fitted with ophthalmic equipment was also gifted to NNJS for implementation of this programme in 2009.
NNJS is an apex voluntary organisation, recognised by the Nepal government as a National Society for Comprehensive Eye Care with 14 eye hospitals, 50 eyecare centres, 250 community based organisations under its umbrella in various districts of Nepal.