'Like a light being spread' - Bhavnagar, India

Worldwide it is estimated that 12 million children are visually impaired due to refractive errors, a condition that can be easily diagnosed and corrected.

In Bhavnagar District, India, we support the PNR Society’s health workers to visit primary and nursery schools to screen the vision and hearing of rural children.  Each child’s vision is examined using an ‘E’ chart and any problems are checked with a refractometer.  Spectacles or treatment at a medical camp are provided.  Children are also given a talk on the importance of healthy nutrition and provided with vitamin A drops to protect their eyes, as lack of this vital micronutrient is a leading cause of childhood blindness.
 

Over the past three months more than 500 children have been prescribed glasses as a result.  A health worker told us, ‘It is like a new light being spread in the life of Primary School children by doing regular screening and giving them necessary treatment as well as aids and appliances’.


www.impact.org.uk