Prez calls for pvt sector participation to fight blindness

Number of blind people in the world may go up to 76 million

President Pranab Mukherjee has called for private sector intervention in blindness eradication.

Quoting the 'Vision 2020 document' of World Health Organization (WHO), he said, there would be around 76 million blind people across the globe by 2020. Currently, around 90% of the world's blind resides in developing countries.

"Blindness increases economic burden by curtailing employment opportunities. The problem of blindness can be combated through provision of high quality eye care and increase in public awareness," he said, adding that according to a recent study done by University of California, about 85% of visual impairment and 75% of blindness in the world could have been either prevented or cured.

"So, private sector companies and government institutions should join hands to fight blindness and visual impairement," he said  while addressing the 28th Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology Congress (APAOC).

The four-day congress, in conjunction with the 71st annual conference of the All India Ophthalmological Society (AIOS), began here today. Over 9,500 delegates from across 110 countries are participating in the congress, which is being held in India for the second time after a gap of 28 years.