Qatar- QRCS fights blindness among Bangladesh schoolchildren

Date

12/27/2015 8:06:29 AM

(MENAFN- The Peninsula)

Doha: Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) is continuing with its school health programme to treat eye diseases among schoolchildren in Dhaka Bangladesh with a total budget of QR 682218 ($187330) in partnership with the Islamic Call Organization and Al-Basar International Foundation.

During the first phase which lasted for one year the medical team visited 104 schools in Dhaka medically examined 40163 students trained 190 teachers in how to identify and deal with eye problems and distributed eye health education printouts a QRCS press release said.

The results of examinations showed that 3266 (8.1%) needed treatment. Consequently 1433 cases received refractive error checks 501 cases were referred to hospitals for treatment 25 students underwent eye surgeries and 815 kids received eyeglasses.

Some parents refused to let their children be operated either out of fear of adverse effects or wanted to wait till the end of the academic year. Social advisors visited these families to explain the importance of these operations for their children.

The rate of students with eye problems in Bangladesh is relatively high compared to international figures which affects sight among schoolchildren and reflects negatively on their academic achievement.

The action plan of the programme involved selecting the primary schools holding training courses for the medics of Al-Basar International Foundation who are responsible for the implementation of the programme choosing a group of teachers to receive training in how to measure vision and detect eye abnormalities that require referral to a hospital and holding a specialized course on data entry and statistical analysis using the SPSS software.

The program will be halted till the middle of January 2016 due to the mid-year holiday. As the target was not attained due to strikes rainfall and many holidays four teams were aligned to complete the program during 2016.

This health program is the result of an agreement signed in November 2014 by QRCS the Islamic Call Organization and Al-Basar International Foundation.

The agreement seeks to examine 200000 students of 200 schools in Dhaka to discover and manage vision problems at specialist eye hospitals offering comprehensive treatment surgeries medicines eyeglasses and other forms of international-standard medical care.

Under the agreement QRCS and the Islamic Call Organization contribute $50000 each while Al-Basar International Foundation contributes $74428 and undertakes the field implementation and securing of licenses from competent authorities such as the Ministry of Health Ministry of Education and charitable work regulatory bodies in coordination with local partners such as Bangladesh Red Crescent.

This project is part of QRCS's endeavors to achieve the goals of "Vision 2020: The Right to Sight" a global initiative to eliminate avoidable blindness by 2020.

QNA

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