Eliminating blindness an effective way of alleviating poverty

Visually impaired Jesmin Akhter, 11, daughter of Mohammad Jahurul Islam of Potajia village in Shahjadpur upazila of Sirajganj district, who had been suffering from sight problem since birth, was denied proper treatment due to ignorance of her parents.
Her father, a mason by profession, at first took her to a rural kabiraj instead of a good doctor, which complicated her problem. Her parents confined the girl inside their house and prevented her from going outside the home as local people blamed her parents for the visual problem. Locals said that the problem was the result of sins of her parents.   
As her problem was not solved, a team of Child Sight Foundation (CSF), after persuading her parents, took the girl to a doctor who said that her disease will not be cured as her two corneas have been damaged. Her parents delayed to take her to good doctor, which complicated the problem.  
Timely treatment might have saved the girl's eyes, but her father's ignorance damaged her eye sight.                
Child blindness remains a significant global health problem. The physical, social, educational and economic consequences of child blindness impact the entire family. In developing countries, where 75% of blind children live, families often do not have access to the specialized resources they need to improve the quality of life of their children.
According to Standard Chartered Bank and International Agency for Prevention of Blindness (IAPB), globally, less than 25% of blind people are employed. People who are blind have fewer opportunities to provide for their families and contribute to their communities. Blindness and visual impairment is costing the global economy around US$ 200 billion a year. It's proven that people with cataract are poorer, much less likely to have a paid job and have a lower health-related quality of life compared to people with normal vision. A successful cataract surgery helps to reduce household poverty, increase engagement in productive activities and improve the quality of life in low-income families.
The World Health Organisation estimates that "About 285 million people worldwide live with serious vision impairment. Of these, 39 million people are blind and 246 million have moderate to severe visual impairment. 80% of blindness is avoidable - i.e. treatable and/or preventable. 90% of blind people live in low-income countries.
CSF said, "Visual impairment in a child limits participation in opportunities for education and self-development. The issue of visual impairment in children is more complex than that of aged people. It is thought that 75% of child education is done by visual power. Hence, growing up and education of visually impaired children is done more slowly than the sighted children. So, we should take urgent step for eliminating visual impairment of the children. Lacking access to education, employment and medical facilities, disabled people are dependent upon their families and are considered a burden on society by their communities".
Blind Education and Rehabilitation Development Organization (BERDO) said visually impaired people are facing following problems: Lack of appropriate training, job quota is not being implemented properly, poverty is the major problem and barrier of our country, most of the visually impaired persons are born in poor family, and employment due to medical fitness barrier.
The Fred Hollows Foundation said, "Most people who are blind (approximately 90%) live in developing countries, where malnutrition, inadequate health and education services, poor water quality and a lack of sanitation lead to a high incidence of eye disease and an entrenched cycle of poverty and blindness".
According to National Federation of the Blind, "poverty and disability are interrelated. Poverty increases the risk of disability, while disability is one of the main causes of poverty. Most of the disabled people are leading an inhuman life due to lack of scope of education, vocational training and employment. Blindness in Bangladesh is a social problem. Blind people are excluded from employment and are considered a burden to their families".
Alleviating blindness is an effective way of alleviating poverty in the developing world.
Mohammad Saidul Huq, Executive Director of BERDO, said if blindness is eliminated, those suffered visual impairment could easily be involved in education, get skill and they can be involved in the mainstream of the country's development by which they can contribute to the country's development. "Investment for the visually impaired people must bring a good result for the country".  

Quoting a report of WHO, Saidul Huq claimed that there are now two million visually impaired people in Bangladesh. They are lagging behind due to visual impairment. "The disabled people can contribute to national development if they get proper facilities".
Every year, World Sight Day is held focusing on the problem of global blindness; it aims to raise public awareness around the world about the prevention and treatment of loss of vision. The event drew attention to the right to sight. The day focused on governments' pledges to ensure increased access to health services in relation to both prevention and treatment of eye conditions.
World Sight Day, an annual day of awareness to focus global attention on blindness, visual impairment and rehabilitation of the visually impaired, is held on the second Thursday in October every year.
"VISION 2020: The Right to Sight" is a global initiative, launched in 1999 by the World Health Organization together with the more than 20 international non-governmental organisations, aiming to eliminate avoidable blindness by the year 2020. VISION 2020 programmes have been adopted in more than 40 countries.
Like many other countries, Bangladesh has taken several initiatives to achieve the goal of vision 2020.
 "Partners, including governments, working together under VISION 2020 can make a major difference to the lives of millions of women, men and children already visually disabled or at risk. Preserving or restoring vision can be accomplished at little cost and can help lift people out of poverty. They can then contribute fully to their families, communities and national development," said Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland, Ex-Director-General, WHO. "Eye care, therefore, needs to be a priority," she added, "and it's not just an issue for health ministries."
October 15th is celebrated as the World White Cane Day.  White Cane is the universal symbol of access to the world for blind and visually impaired people. When blind or low vision individuals travel through their environment with a white cane and are trained in its proper use, they can be fully mobile in society.  White canes have been used by blind people around the world since the 1930s.  
The ability to travel safely and independently is a critical issue to everyone in our society. We all want to get to our destinations in the safest and quickest way possible. This is no different for persons who are blind or partially sighted.  Although new technologies are emerging to assist people navigate their surroundings, these will not replace the white cane as a reliable method to be mobile, as these new gadgets rely on electrical systems that may fail.  Many of these global positioning systems linked to speech-enabled smart phones have huge costs associated with them that make them unaffordable for millions of blind people. That is why the white cane remains the essential mobility tool for most blind and partially sighted people.  
We should work to prevent blindness, restore eyesight and promote eye health. We aim to eradicate preventable and treatable eye diseases in the greater interest of the country's development.
The writer is a journalist. sazedul islam