Rajasthan becomes first State to implement blindness control policy.

January 17, 2023

Rajasthan has become the first state to implement a policy to control blindness, with the objective of ensuring the “right to sight”.
A massive drive will be undertaken in the State to reduce the rate of blindness, and bring light into the lives of over 3 lakh people suffering from visual impairment.
The State government’s Medical & Health Department released the policy document here over the week-end. The prevalence rate of blindness, which was 1.1% in 2020, will be brought down to 0.3%, through the policy.
The government is taking a number of measures to improve access to eye care services in the state. The state government under the policy for Blindness Control will mandatorily run Keratoplasty Center and eye bank in all the government medical colleges.
Under this policy, cornea collected by private organizations and NGOs getting financial help from the government will have to be provided to the government institutions on priority.
Efforts to eliminate visual impairment would be made in the districts in collaboration with voluntary organizations, trusts, hospitals, and other charitable institutions working in this field. The state government will carry out a campaign for eye donation on an extensive level along with the private institutions.